77 research outputs found

    The descent of Christ in Ephesians 4:7-11 : an exegetical investigation with special reference to the influence of traditions about Moses associated with Psalm 68:19.

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    This study attempts to demonstrate that the most probable interpretation of the descent of Christ in Eph. 4: 7-11 involves a descent of Christ as the Spirit who distributes gifts to his church subsequent to the ascent of Eph. 4: 8. The investigation begins with a history of the interpretation of Eph. 4: 7-11. Most modern interpreters favour either a descent to the under- world (or the grave) between Christ's death and resurrection or a descent from heaven to earth at the incarnation. Textual and grammatical problems relevant to the proposed exegesis are also discussed. A major portion of the study deals with the ascent-descent imagery associating Ps. 68: 19 (quoted in Eph. 4: 8) and Moses as found in Tg Psalms and the rabbinic literature. The author of Ephesians, had he been aware of these traditions associating Psalm 68 with Moses, would have been predisposed to think in terms of a subsequent descent, because Moses' ascent of Mt Sinai to receive the Torah was followed by his descent to distribute it as 'gifts' to men. Although it is clear that both Tg Psalms and the rabbinic literature are later than Ephesians, there is evidence from a number of early sources that such Moses-traditions were in circulation prior to the first century CE. The association of these traditions with Ps. 68: 19 as employed by the author of Ephesians appears to exist through the connection of Moses' ascent of Sinai to receive the Torah with the celebration of the Jewish feast of Pentecost on the one hand, and the Christian use of Psalm 68 in connection with Pentecost (described in Acts 2) on the other. Ps. 68: 19 was already understood to refer to the ascent of Christ and the gift of the Spirit in a layer of tradition older than Ephesians. Familiarity with the Moses-traditions connected with an ascent and descent of Sinai would have suggested a subsequent descent. Thus the author's innovation did not lie in the use of the psalm in a christological sense, nor in the introduction of a subsequent descent of Christ inferred from the ascent mentioned in Ps. 68: 19. The contribution of the author of Ephesians consisted in his identification of the ascended Christ as the Spirit who descended to distribute gifts to his church. Such an interpretation offers the best explanation of the passage in light of the evidence linking Moses-traditions of a heavenly ascent at Sinai with Pentecost and Psalm 68

    Dr. Godfrey Mbaruku: A tribute and review of the life of a maternal health crusader in Tanzania

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    Dr. Godfrey Mbaruku, an obstetrician-gynecologist and one of Tanzania’s most dedicated maternal health researchers, passed away in September 2018. His professional career spanned over four decades, with the last decade of his life dedicated to maternal health research, advocacy and policy in Africa. We undertook a review of the key global milestones in maternal health policy, funding and research that took place during Dr. Mbaruku’s career until his untimely death in 2018. We then reflect on the progress of the maternal health agenda from 2018 to 2021 as lower middle income countries (LMICs) continue to strive to reach the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the midst of a global pandemic. Dr. Godfrey Mbaruku’s commitment to improving maternal health in Tanzania through his advocacy and research contributions over his professional life will forever serve as foundational pillars for the ongoing global effort to reduce maternal mortality.   Le Dr Godfrey Mbaruku, obstétricien-gynécologue et l'un des chercheurs en santé maternelle les plus dévoués de Tanzanie, est décédé en septembre 2018. Sa carrière professionnelle a duré plus de quatre décennies, la dernière décennie de sa vie étant consacrée à la recherche, au plaidoyer et aux politiques en santé maternelle en Afrique. Nous avons entrepris un examen des principales étapes mondiales de la politique, du financement et de la recherche en matière de santé maternelle qui ont eu lieu au cours de la carrière du Dr Mbaruku jusqu'à sa mort prématurée en 2018. Nous réfléchissons ensuite aux progrès du programme de santé maternelle de 2018 à 2021 en tant que milieu inférieur. Les pays à revenu intermédiaire (PRFI) continuent de s'efforcer d'atteindre les objectifs de développement durable (ODD) au milieu d'une pandémie mondiale. L'engagement du Dr Godfrey Mbaruku à améliorer la santé maternelle en Tanzanie grâce à ses contributions de plaidoyer et de recherche au cours de sa vie professionnelle servira à jamais de piliers fondamentaux pour l'effort mondial en cours pour réduire la mortalité maternelle

    Recent changes in the initiation liturgies: a comparative study

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    In this thesis the author examines the recent rites of initiation within the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Church of England, and Methodist Churches. The object is two-fold: (l) to see whether there has been convergence in the recent liturgical practice and theological understanding of initiation; and (2)' to see the extent to which the rites of the present-day mark a deliberate return to the pool of symbolic actions and words that were current in the post-apostolic period (and maybe even earlier).From the witness of Scripture it is felt that no established practice was being set before us at that time, particularly as the primary role of Scripture is as a witness to Christ rather than as a manual of devotion. The establishing of normative procedures for initiation would seem to be a post-apostolic development which took distinctive eastern and western lines of development. The Orthodox Church continues to employ the ancient rites which extend back for over twelve hundred years, and its insistence on the unity of baptism, chrismation and eucharist in theological thought and administration is characteristic. The other denominations express in their recent rites the desire to return to an archetypal service, but at the same time wishing to maintain the validity of a fragmented initiation practice. The Church of England, .and Methodism which grew from it, show increasing use of ceremonial. Most of this had been removed from the Church of England's liturgy at the Reformation. Taking note of recent work by the World Council of Churches the author concludes that convergence in liturgy and theology, though incomplete, has taken place; and further, that faithful witness is borne to the practice and understanding of the early Church of the post-apostolic period. Some aspects may date from the New Testament times

    Pointing out persuasion in Philemon: Fifty readings of Paul’s rhetoric from the fourth to the eighteenth century

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    This informative and insightful work reveals the vast field of the history and life of the Letter to Philemon after it was written. This approach to biblical texts has received greater attention in recent years when the reader’s contribution to the meaning of textswas first recognised. This attention to the reception of biblical texts is the special subject of the Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR), which started in 2009 and of which 20 volumes have already been published. This encyclopedia surveys not only sermons and commentaries, but also the various ways in which biblical texts have been received, such as in the creative arts, including paintings, sculptures, novels, films and music. Professor Tolmie’s study, however, focuses on how commentators and preachers have “pointed out persuasion” in this Pauline letter. He has selected, as the subtitle indicates, 50 readings of Philemon from three periods, the early church (starting with Ambrosiaster in chapter 1), the Middle Ages (chapter 2), and the period from the 16th to the 18th century (Chapter 3). For each of these interpreters, Tolmie offers a brief introduction and then focuses on the way they explain the rhetorical situation. He then focuses on the way each author explains the rhetorical strategy by moving through the letter, section by section. Chapter 4, the conclusion, is actually a synthesis, in which Tolmie looks for tendencies in the interpretation of Paul’s letter by focusing first on the way the rhetorical situation is imagined and then on Paul rhetorical strategies in the different literary units of Philemon

    Plautus' 'Mercator': a commentary

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    This thesis comprises an introduction, a lemmatic commentary, and indices. The introductory chapter, apart from a brief discussion of a more general nature, investigates the play and the relation it bears to Philemon's Emporos, its lost Greek model, especially with regard to the actdivisions of the Greek play and the pacing of the action in Plautus' adaptation. The commentary is provided to address problems posed by the Latin text, notably those of exegesis, textual criticism, metre, grammar, humour, imagery, staging, and the relationship to the Graeco-Roman comic tradition. An attempt is also made to distinguish between elements which may reflect the Greek comic tradition and those which suggest Plautine origin. In recent work about Plautus and Philemon it has been argued that the plot of the Emporos underwent far-reaching changes at the hands of Plautus, but the author of this thesis argues for the essential unity of the Mercator and for Plautus' conservative treatment of the plot of the Greek original, at the same time allowing for the fact that Plautus may have Romanised, exaggerated, and extended Philemon's play at certain points. By its structure, metrical arrangement, pacing, juxtaposition of contrasting types, parallel arrangement of core scenes, and the recurrence of key imagery, themes and motifs, the Mercator proves to be a carefully conceived, effectively balanced, and well-composed play

    Myths of the Greek and Roman Gods

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    L1 Hypothesis-Philemon & BaucisL2 Hypothesis-The Song of Ares and Aphrodite HomerL2-The Hieros Gamos of Zeus and HeraL3 Hypothesis-Hesiod's Theogony (1-152): the Muses & CreationL3-Archilochus & the Muses (the Mnesiepes Inscription)L4 Hypothesis-Hesiod's Theogony (the Succession Myth)L5 Hypothesis-Prometheus & Pandora (Hesiod's Theogony and Works & Days)L6 Hypothesis-Prometheus & Io (Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound)L7 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Part 1L8 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Part 2L9 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part 1L10 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part 2Selected Greek myth

    Filemone, fr. 102 K.–A. e la reviviscenza tragica di una metafora mitica

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    This paper argues that the mention of Niobe turned into a stone in Philemon fr. 102 K.–A. is not merely a reference to the myth, but an allusion of the famous Aeschylean Niobe. After presenting and discussing the comic fragment, the author provides sections about the popularity of the Niobe myth and the reasons why Aeschylus’ Niobe was so significant already in antiquity, which was mainly owing to the dramatist’ s presentation of Niobe as silent until an advanced point of the performance. Niobe’ s silence is not attested in other literary or mythographical sources. Next the author discusses the rationalization of Niobe’ s metamorphosis in the fragment by Philemon, pointing out that it focuses precisely on the silence of the woman, while other versions by different authors refer to different aspects (linguistic misunderstandings, immobility, insensibility). Lastly, a short meta-linguistic survey of the association stone/silence shows that this was not the only possible nor the most expected outcome in Greek

    The Gospel on the Margins: The Ideological Function of the Patristic Tradition on the Evangelist Mark

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    In spite of the virtually unanimous patristic opinion that the evangelist Mark was the interpreter of Peter, one of the most prestigious apostolic founding figures in Christian memory, the Gospel of Mark was mostly neglected in the patristic period. Not only is the text of Mark the least well represented of the canonical Gospels in terms of the number of patristic citations, commentaries and manuscripts, the explicit comments about the evangelist Mark reveal some ambivalence about its literary or theological value. In my survey of the reception of Mark from Papias of Hierapolis until Clement of Alexandria, I will argue that the reason why the patristic writers were hesitant to embrace the Gospel of Mark was that they perceived the text to be amenable to the Christological beliefs and social praxis of rival Christian factions. The patristic tradition about Mark may have little historical basis, but it had an important ideological function in appropriating the text in the name of an apostolic authority from the margins or periphery

    Accommodating Indigenous students' cultural resources in science classrooms

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    The author takes two Year 9 science classes, composed entirely of Torres Strait Islander students, at a school in Far North Queensland. In 2007 and 2008 he introduced elements of Indigenous language and culture into the classes, and conducted a study measuring their impact on students' science learning. These resources include storytelling, ceremony, songs and ritual, as well as the diversity of their languages and dialects through which the students communicate and share knowledge. The article describes some ways in which these students' multiple strengths were brought to bear during four learning activities based around the concepts of energy and force
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