1,720,980 research outputs found
The logic and language of the incarnation : towards a Christology of identification
Full text linkThis thesis provides an examination of the contemporary discussion of incarnational language as its receives classical expression in the formulations of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. with a view to developing an incarnational account based on God's identification with Jesus of Nazareth. With this in view consideration is given to a number of contemporary defences of the logic of Chalcedon viewed as a literal statement of identity. It is argued that such defences fail in that they carry over the tensions inherent in Chalcedon unresolved into their own positions. From this conclusion consideration is given to the criticism that incarnational language is not literal but metaphorical. This is agreed, but an argument is offered to show that metaphors can refer and bear cognitive information and as such are capable of conceptual articulation. It is further argued that there is an important class of metaphors which are 'theory-constitutive' such that the theoretical claims which they embody cannot be expressed apart from the metaphor. An attempt is made to show that the metaphor of incarnation is one such 'theory-constitutive' metaphor. The results of this general discussion of incarnational language are then applied to the christological theories of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Donald Baillie. It is argued that they are legitimate and proper attempts to articulate the claims embodied in the metaphor of incarnation. An attempt is made to show that they offer a genuine middle way between Chalcedon and purely inspirational accounts of the incarnation. However, it is conceded that the traditional question raised against these theories, as to whether or not they can successfully maintain a unity of person, is a legitimate one, given their failure to indicate adequately how the union operated. The concept of God's identification with Jesus of Nazareth is introduced as one which shares a certain 'family resemblance' to Baillie's and Theodore's approach. It is argued that the concept of identification provides the type of conceptual underpinning that both Baillie's and Theodore's approach require. The fourth and fifth chapters of this thesis are devoted to presenting an account of the incarnation from the perspective of identification with particular emphasis being given to demonstrating that the concept of identification can account for the unity of God and man in Christ whilst respecting the integrity and individuality of the human person
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
The resurrection : aspects of its changing role in 20th century theology
No full textThis thesis deals with theologies of the Resurrection in the
twentieth century. We have chosen for study seven major theologians
whose work reflects significant achievement in this area. We begin
with a look at 'dialectical' theologians Karl Barth and Rudolf
Bultmann and deal with their debate on the nature and meaning of
the Resurrection. Because of their importance to theology they are
dealt with extensively. From there we move on to the contemporary
theologians of 'hope, ' Jürgen Moltmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg,
before completing our research with a chapter on the Catholic
theologians Karl Rahner, Edward Schillebeeckx, and Hans Küng.
It was our purpose initially (and we hope we have been consistent
throughout) to give a well-rounded purview, and thus a fairer criticism,
of each theology. Yet into the research it seemed obvious
that a consistent major concern of each theologian centered on
how one comes to faith in such a unique event. It was certainly
at the core of the Barth-Bultmann debate and remains crucial. Thus
it may be stated that the concerns which receive the primacy in this
work are those discussions in our theologies which deal with the
nature of the Resurrection, its status as an event of history, and
its ability to be proved and thus believed as other events of history
are proved and believed. We ultimately conclude that the most
satisfactory entry into faith in the Resurrection is through a juxtaposing
of the work of Wolfhart Pannenberg and Hans Küng.
The focus of the paper is changed in the second half of the
Conclusion as we suggest what course studies on the Resurrection
might take in the future. Here we find the perspective of Jewish
New Testament theologian Pinchas Lapide to be most provocative and
speculate on the possibilities that the Resurrection might hold
for Jewish-Christian relations
A comparison of the concept of God found in Paul Tillich, Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne
Full text linkThis Thesis aims to compare and contrast the doctrines of God found within the writings of Paul Tillich, Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne. Chapter one is concerned with an exposition of Tillich's concept of God while chapter two examines the process view and explains the divergence of Hartshorne from Whitehead. In chapter three I discuss general similarities of system structure and basic ideology between Tillich and Process but conclude that there are insurmountable difficulties in bringing the two systems into closer dialogue. The religious and philosophical similarities and differences are outlined and the judgement made that ultimately the difference is due to Tillich's insistence on symbolic language. I also argue in chapter three that while Tillich and Process cannot be brought together as systems they can benefit from one another at specific points. For example, Tillichs' insight into the phenomenological threat of non-being can be included in process to enrich its ability to address the human situation. In chapter four I analyse both Whiteheads' concept of Prehension and Tillichs' concept of participation and show how the latter can be clarified by reference to the former. I believe that Tillich uses participation to apply to different levels of relatedness from the mere 'having of relation' to the saving participation of the New Being. I conclude that if Prehension is used to interpret the basic levels of relationship then participation is free to be used for higher meanings only
Whitehead's vision and the possibilities for the Christological adventure
Full text linkThe Intention of this thesis is to develop a Process christology which is valid and coherent with respect to the principles of Whitehead's Process philosophy and adequate with respect to Christian faith. As indicated by the title, the study moves from Whitehead's vision to the christological adventure. Although this necessitates that the criteria are essentially philosophical, it is stressed that the discussion finds its inspiration in faith. For that reason the second chapter describes the Process christologies of Norman Pittenger. John Cobb, Schubert Ogden and David Griffin. That discussion isolates the major questions and issues which arise. Chapter three is an examination of the philosophical principles of Whitehead's vision. A central thesis of the work is that the theory of "initial aims" is inadequate to account for the idea of a Divine purpose relevant to human beings. I illustrate why this is so and, after presenting a Process theory of the "self", describe how the notion of purpose mediated in history is Intelligible. Chapter four is a synthesis between the issues raised in the second chapter and the philosophical themes of chapter three. This chapter presents the christology which is valid with respect to Whitehead's vision. The following chapter observes that the Church is an essential aspect of Process christology, and then evaluates Christ and the Church with respect to some of' the themes of Biblical and traditional christology. The intention is to justify its status as an appropriate expression of faith, although it is accepted that the essential subjectivity of faith renders an objective evaluation impossible. The final chapter offers some concluding remarks, noting particularly how Process christology is a theology of liberation : freedom and responsibility
'Love' as theological concept : changing issues in modern theology with particular reference to 'justice'
Full text linkHow shall we continue to speak of God's love in a world which continues to be flagrantly frustrated by human injustice? The question is not so much concerned with theodicy as with the task of human loving. Loving justly, so that ever wider structures of justice are made possible in history, must be a human endeavour which correlates with a divine precept, mandate, and command. Indeed, Christians are 'commanded' to love, both "one another" and the neighbour as oneself, in correspondence with the love revealed and exemplified by Christ. The 'thesis' developed in this research is given, to the Church and to the world, in Jesus' word to his disciples: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Dwell in my love. If you heed my commands, you will dwell in my love, as I have heeded my Father's commands and dwell in his love… This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:9-12) The task of loving is a problem of authentic correlation. We must first reflect upon the ministry of Jesus, and upon the sort of love or loves which he exemplified among his contemporaries. Then we must discover ways of interpreting the commanded love for our own day, and of putting such a love into practice. The quest for justice parallels and criticizes our quest for love. New Testament scholarship and theological reflection of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have interpreted Christian love in many ways. As a convenient starting point for evaluating interpretations of Christian love, the proposition is suggested that an appropriate practice of love, correlating with the love of Christ, should lead, if ever so subtly, to the creation of justice in contemporary societies of human beings, and provide foundations for greater justice in future societies. A 'symposium' of selected 'speakers' on the characteristics of Christian love is 'convened'. From the nineteenth century we consider the thoughts of Ludwig Feuerbach and Soren Kierkegaard, and briefly, of the 'young Hegel'. These thinkers set the tone for much of the discussion, and in their ideas are distinguished certain dominant themes which will continue to characterize love-talk in the twentieth century. The twentieth century discussion takes the form of a 'debate' between 'neo-orthodox' Protestants, Latin American 'liberation theologians', and North American 'theologians of process'. But the debate is complicated, because the lines of division are not always distinctly drawn. We consider the most germane propositions of Anders Nygren, whose strict division between agape and eros has had a continuing impact upon Christian theology. Briefly we compare the thoughts of Emil Brunner, Reinhold Niebuhr, John Burnaby, and Karl Barth, and their impact upon the discussion of Christian love which began with Nygren's radical definitions. We observe, for example, how Karl Barth moves away from the early 'neo-orthodox' concerns, answering the critics of neo-orthodoxy with a holistic interpretation of love which melts into action, not determined, but sustained, by the covenanted love of God for his creatures. The latter part of this 'symposium' is an attempt to hear, without prejudging, two of the most prominent interpretations of love in contemporary thought. The Latin American theologians of liberation, since the late nineteen-sixties, have projected a view of Christian love which is thoroughly interpolated with the call for justice, on their continent especially, and also throughout the world. Their viewpoints elevate the discussion to a new plane, in which theory and practice are profoundly interdependent. Although Alfred North Whitehead wrote in the early twentieth century, his followers, in the United States specially, have begun to build upon his ideas, so that the 'process theology' of the eighties is intimately related to Whitehead's work in the twenties. Although the literature is massive, a hearing of Whitehead himself seems import if his ideas about love are to be set in relation to the genre which he inspired. Influenced significantly by the synthesizing method of Whitehead, the concluding chapter aims at no definitive conclusion. However, in recognition of the criterion that love should be creative of justice, certain related issues are distinguished which might inform theology’s love-talk for the future. For example, recent textual analysis of the New Testament has demonstrated that the word agape has no consistent usage in the Bible as a word for love superseding all others. The perpetuation of agape as a ‘technical’ word for a definite ‘type’ of love, is not justified by scripture, and may obscure the profound intimacy of love to justice. Similarly, the relationship of faith to Christian love has the capacity to militate against love’s relation to justice. The idea of eros may entail elements of Christian love and justice not normally construed by interpretations of agape. Response to God’s love may be inhibited by exclusive, elite, or essentially egocentric characterizations of Christian love. Other insights pertinent to love’s relation to justice, its affiliation with feeling, and its universal quality, are suggested
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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