13,608 research outputs found
The soteriology of James in light of earlier Jewish Wisdom literature and the Gospel of Matthew
No full textThe epistle of James has been neglected in NT studies, caught between its
relationship with Paul and the claim that it has no theology. Even as it experiences a
resurgence of study, surprisingly no full-length survey exists on James as the epistle of
“faith and works.” Approaches to James have neglected its soteriology and, in
consequence, its theological themes have been separated or studied only in connection
with Paul. As “moral character,” however, “faith” and “works” fit within a coherent
theology of God’s mercy and judgment.
This study provides a sustained reading of James as a Jewish-Christian document.
Because James presents the “faith” and “works” discussion in context of “can such faith
save?” (2:14), the issue becomes one of soteriology and final judgment. Both the “law of
freedom” and the “word of truth” demand faithful obedience—the “works.” Moreover,
God’s character and deeds in election form the basis for human “works” of mercy and
humble obedience, while future judgment is in accordance with virtuous character.
It has been established that James shares methodology and concerns with prior
wisdom literature. This thesis therefore examines key ideas developing across the Jewish
literature and Jesus’ teaching as presented by Matthew, and highlights developing views of
God saving and judging his people. Within the first two chapters, James gives a high view
of God’s work in calling and redeeming, providing wisdom to his people, and instilling the
long-anticipated new covenant that they might live in obedience, humility and purity in
accordance with his character and will. Because of God’s saving work, he justly judges
those who fail to live mercifully, while his mercy triumphs for those who obey. God
begins the work and sustains those who ask; but only those who submit to the “perfect
law of freedom,” whose faith works, receive mercy when God enacts his final justice
Artful living and the eradication of worry in Søren Kierkegaard's interpretation of Matthew 6:24-34
No full textDanish thinker Søren Kierkegaard published fourteen discourses, across four collections, on Matthew 6:24-34. The repeated readings of the biblical text, whose themes include the choice between God and mammon, worry, what it means to consider the birds and lilies, and how to seek first the kingdom of God, converge with Kierkegaard’s interest in anxiety, despair, worry, subjectivity, indirect communication, choice, the moment, and life before God. Accordingly, the discourses make connections with his larger works, elucidate frequently explored Kierkegaardian themes in recent scholarship, and contribute to his critique of nineteenth-century Copenhagen. Additionally, the collections present an interpretation of each verse and phrase of Matthew’s text and, held up against modern Matthew scholarship, they correlate with and contribute to Sermon on the Mount and New Testament studies. Kierkegaard’s reading of Matthew also holds implications for the practice of biblical interpretation as it promotes the importance of awareness of sin, interestedness, and appropriation as central to proper reading. His emphasis on Christ as the primary exemplar of Matthew’s text adds an additional Christological element to his hermeneutic. Furthermore, the discourses serve as spiritual treatises which provide the reader with theological terminology to help confront the problem of worry and suffering. In light of a human being’s distinctiveness as imago Dei, Kierkegaard elucidates ways an individual may respond artfully to the ongoing possibility of worry, a possibility which the discourses connect with Christian anthropology and external labels associated with possessions and status. The Matthew 6 discourses intimate Kierkegaard’s sympathy with classic Christian spirituality and, in combination with the cultural-ecclesiastical critique, the creative exegesis, and the in-depth analysis of the cause of and cure for worry, his work emerges as an excellent example of spiritual theology
'Woe to you, hypocrites!' : law and leaders in The Gospel of Matthew
No full textThis thesis seeks to move beyond the impasse in Matthean scholarship that posits the reason for conflict in Matthew 23 with the authorial community. A framework is developed that allows the possibility that the gospel was received and understood by a widespread, general audience that itself was not necessarily embroiled in conflict. Multiple complementary methods are used to analyze how an ancient audience might expect conflict and work through its development in the narrative. Analysis of comparative biographical literature and of Old Testament references and allusions shows that readers could expect in literature the type and intensity of conflict exhibited in Matthew 23. The gospel's internal narrative development provides unity to the conflict episodes in Matthew 9-23. It also offers rationale for the escalation of conflict for which Matthew 23 is the summary. Chapter One: The Shape of the Discussion surveys representative works including redaction, social scientific, socio-historical, narrative and genre critics, to understand the options for studying conflict in Matthew. Reader-response oriented genre criticism provides language for framing reader expectations. Chapter Two: Expecting Conflict examines expectations that can be associated with Matthew's use of the Old Testament and by comparison with ancient biographies. Chapter Three: The Conflict Builds works systematically through each of the points of contact between Jesus and the leaders of Israel in chapters 9-22 organized by three topics: legal interpretation, the identity and authority of Jesus, and the character of the leaders. Chapter Four: Woe to You takes up the task of examining Matthew 23. The analysis of Matthew 23 identifies three components in the summary of conflict: Jesus presented as the model for his audience, Jesus' final denunciation of the leaders, and the presentation of Jesus as God’s representative. The multi-methodological approach used in this study of Matthew 23 suggests a narrative that invites the reader to rethink how one knows and understands God. The study thereby provides an alternative to the assumption that conflict reflects the immediate experience of a narrowly conceived authorial community
Zechariah and the Gospel off Matthew: the use of a biblical tradition
No full textThis thesis examines the use of Zechariah traditions in Matthew's Gospel. It analyzes and interprets the ways Matthew transmits, alters or adds Zechariah traditions to his sources. Instead of looking at portions of the Gospel in light of Zechariah 9-14 only, this study addresses the entire Gospel and all of Zechariah. In focusing on Zechariah tradition, the thesis has kept the following considerations in view. First, the content and function of Matthew's explicit uses of Zechariah are examined. Second, ways in which tradition derived from Zechariah may have exerted influence on portions of the gospel sub-structure are identified. Third, it explores the extent to which Matthew alludes to characteristic Zechariah themes. Together, these components illuminate how Matthew's Gospel incorporates its Zechariah material, whether alone or in combination with other prophetic traditions. Thus the methodological approach of the thesis is not only grounded in classical methods of biblical criticism but is also open to recent literary methods. In addition to explicit citations, numerous allusions and echoes of Zechariah tradition are present in Matthew. They appear in Matthean materials and in traditions Matthew has taken from Mark and Q. Because the focus of this thesis is open to both the Gospel and the Zechariah traditions in their entirety, two important observations have been made. First, traces of Zechariah material are found in the Infancy and Gaililean healing Narratives as well as in the Passion Narrative. Not only is the impact of Zechariah 9-14 observed, but important sections of Zechariah 1-8 are also discerned in Matthew's narrative structure. Moreover, Matthew's Son of David Christology is enriched and partially defined by Zechariah's prophet-shepherd imagery, as well as by the royal messianic motif
The Spirituality of Faith in the Gospel of Matthew (Chapter in Matthew and Mark Across Perspectives)
No full textExcerpt: In this essay, I wish to pay respect to Dr. Barton\u27s important contribution to the theological study of the Gospels by looking at the Gospel of Matthew with a similar interest in the First Gospel\u27s spirituality. In his chapter on Matthew, Barton rightly notes Matthew\u27s interest in discipleship, righteousness, purity/integrity, and radical love. To this we will add Matthew\u27s interest in \u27faith\u27. In the study of the Synoptic Gospels in particular, despite the ubiquity of the language of faith, there has been little study of this subject. When it comes to the spirituality of the Gospels, though, there can hardly be a more important concept related to the human response to God than faith
Heeding the great commission: The significance of Matthew's gospel for Baptismal theology and practice in a post-Christian age.
No full textThis thesis represents a worked example in the application of Scripture to a contemporary theological situation. The Scripture applied is Matthew's Gospel and the theological situation is the ongoing practice of Christian baptism by paedo-baptising churches in the context of a post-Christian cultural milieu. Matthew's Gospel is a particularly relevant text with respect to baptism as the church traditionally has cited the baptismal command of Matthew 28.19 as a warrant for its baptising activity. The interpretation of Matthew m this thesis has emerged from a reflection on practice and is also directed back towards practice. The notion of 'performance’, therefore, is regarded as an especially helpful metaphor for interpretation: the believing community 'performs' its Scripture as a company of players would perform a play or a musical score. The formulation of this metaphor in the work of Kevin J. Vanhoozer is particularly utilised m the thesis. Vanhoozer suggests that Scripture testifies to the dramatic saving activity of God (the theo-drama) in which the church is called to participate. Therefore it is important to understand the plot of the drama as it is communicated m Scripture so that the church can work to continue the action faithfully. As such this thesis functions as a case study in 'performance' hermeneutics and will be of interest both in the academy and in the church. In terms of exegesis, therefore, this thesis is concerned with the place of baptism տ Matthew's presentation of the theo-drama. I argue that baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (28.19), in the context of the Matthean narrative, is a symbol of narrative inclusion for a new disciple. Christian baptism makes connection with key moments in the Gospel such that it declares the gospel of the kingdom whilst enabling a rich expression of repentance and acceptance of a call to discipleship. The theo-dramatic significance of baptism is then considered alongside the challenges of paedo-baptismal ministry in post-Christian contexts. This creative interaction leads to strategies for baptismal performance being imagined that are not only faithful to the Great Commission but which are also culturally meaningful
Leadership development in a faith-based non-profit organisation using a relational leadership model: A case study
No full textThis paper describes a case study of a Leadership Development Program (LDP) which has been developed and conducted at a large faith-based non-profit organization providing aged and community care in Australia. Walter Wright's Relational Leadership model which used insights from Jude, Philemon and Colossians was adopted by the organization. Started as a pilot in 2003 the LDP was implemented in 2007 and has been run regularly since then. The LDP was systematically evaluated by an independent researcher recently. The evaluation concluded that the program has been effective and recommended that it continue with some minor modifications. The organization in which this program was developed is a partner in an Australian Research Council (ARC) linkage grant started in 2010 between three universities and two faith-based non-profit organizations providing aged care and community care. This paper has been written by four researchers involved in the linkage grant. Four interviews on participants in the LDP were conducted by the authors to evaluate the effectiveness of the leadership program in order to prepare this paper. The study was carried out to clarify the research aim for the principal author (who is a PhD student in the ARC grant) by trying to understand what the LDP program was aiming to achieve and to be presented at the Spirituality at Work conference at the University of Arkansas
Wisdom and apocalyptic in the Gospel of Matthew : a comparative study with 1 Enoch and 4QInstruction
No full textRecent scholarship has demonstrated that Matthew's gospel has significantly developed
both sapiential and apocalyptic elements within its narrative. Little attention has been paid,
however, to the question of how these two features of Matthew's gospel might relate to one
another. It is this gap in scholarly literature that the present study is intended to fill, by means of a
comparative study with two other texts of mixed genre: 1 Enoch and 4Qlnstruction.
An examination of these texts demonstrates that each is marked by an inaugurated
eschatology, within which the revealing of wisdom to an elect group, defined in distinction to the
Jewish parent group, serves as the pivotal moment of inauguration. In addition, within
4Qlnstruction the idea is developed that possession of this revealed wisdom allows the remnant
to live in fidelity to the will of the Creator and to the patterns built-in to the original creation.
Thus, possession of revealed wisdom facilitates a recovery of creation.
These findings provide lines of enquiry that may be brought to Matthew. Three sections
of the gospel are examined (chapters 5-7; 11-12; 24-25). It is argued that Jesus is presented as an
eschatological figure who reveals wisdom to an elect group. This wisdom cannot be reduced to
great moral insight or interpretation of Torah, but is presented as prophetic revelation, happening
in eschatological time. It remains the case, however, that Matthew presents it as wisdom and
presents Jesus as a sage.
More tentatively, it is suggested that creation provides the patterns for the ethical
requirements of Jesus' wisdom, thus indicating that the idea of restored creation is also at work in
Matthew. The fall of the temple may also be connected in Matthew's narrative to such a
restoration, but again, the evidence for this is not clear
Matthew’s Emmanuel Messiah: a paradigm of presence for god's people
No full textThe motif of divine presence is a clear phenomenon within the Gospel of Matthew. The modern critical means for assessing the ancient biblical text have multiplied to the point, some claim, of disparity. This study employs both narrative and redaction criticism in an attempt to respond authentically to the structural, historical and theological dimensions of Matthew's Gospel. This study begins with the presumption of the wholeness and integrity of Matthew's narrative, and assumes the gospel story to have an inherently dramatic structure which invites readers to inhabit imaginatively its narrative world and respond to its call. But since we are concerned with the role of both reader and author, this study also assumes a text with an historical author and context. The introduction focuses on the meta-critical dilemma facing New Testament students - what is the text and how do we read it? - and seeks some balance in terms of Krieger's analogy of the text as both window and mirror. Proposed is a narrative reading of Matthew's presence motif alongside a redaction critical assessment of it. In Chapter 2 the elements of narrative theory are introduced and relevant terms defined: the structure of narrative, the function of the narrator, points of view. Chapter 3 becomes an exercise in narrative reading, with Matthew's presence motif providing the focus, and the implied reader’s interaction with the story being predominant in interpretation. Characters, rhetorical devices, and points of view are discussed, to understand the motif's development throughout the story's progress. The thrust of Chapter 4 is thereafter to examine divine presence as a dominant motif within Matthew's most important literary context: the Jewish scriptures. Here the primary paradigms of divine presence provided by the Patriarchs, the Sinai experience, and the Davidic-Zion traditions are assessed. Chapter 5 follows with a more detailed examination of the OT "I am with you/God is with us" formula and its µeo' vµwv/ηuwv language, so strongly connected to Matthew's presence motif. Chapters 6-8 build on these investigations with a closer analysis of the three critical "presence passages" of Mt 1:23. 18:20 and 28:20. The passages and their contexts are probed from a redaction critical perspective, guided by the narrative investigation of Chapter 3, and the background from Chapters 4 and 5.The three major "presence passages" examined in Chapters 6-8 are also complimented by a number of secondary issues: worship, wisdom, the Spirit and the poor in Matthew, and their relation to Jesus' divine presence. These are discussed in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 summarizes and looks briefly at some implications. Matthew' presence motif proves to be an important element of the Gospel’s rhetorical design, redactional strategy and Christology. The presence of Jesus, the Emmanuel Messiah, exhibited in his risen authority, becomes the focus of his people's hopes and experiences in the post-Easter world. What the presence of Yahweh was to his people. Jesus now provides in a new paradigm for his people - his followers, the little ones, the poor and the marginalized, from all nations
Reading and proclaiming the Birth Narratives from Luke and Matthew: A study in empirical theology amongst curates and their training incumbents employing the SIFT method
No full textDrawing on Jungian psychological type theory, the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching suggests that the reading and proclaiming of scripture reflects the psychological type preferences of the reader and preacher. This thesis is examined amongst two samples of curates and training incumbents (N = 23, 27), serving in one Diocese of the Church of England, who completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Firstly, the narrative of the shepherds from Luke was discussed by groups organised according to scores on the perceiving process. In accordance with the theory, sensing types focused on details in the passage, but could reach no consensus on the larger picture, and intuitive types quickly identified an imaginative, integrative theme, but showed little interest in the details. Secondly, the narrative of the massacre of the infants from Matthew was discussed by groups organised according to scores on the judging process. In accordance with theory, the thinking types identified and analysed the big themes raised by the passage (political power, theodicy, obedience), whilst the feeling types placed much more emphasis on the impact that the passage may have on members of the congregation mourning the death of their child or grandchild
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