Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Judeo-Christian'

Ample evidence exists for American Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard's life-long interest in Jewish mysticism. However, to date, its shaping influence on her work has remained unexamined. This thesis seeks to explore the role of Jewish mystical theology, particularly Lurianic Kabbalism and Martin Buber's Hasidism, in three seminal theological movements found within Dillard's canon: creation, evil, and redemption. Chapter 1 demonstrates that although there exist connections between Jewish mysticism and the Neoplatonic traditions with which Dillard is frequently linked, her pansacramental vision of God's presence in creation seems far more closely allied with Hasidism than Neoplatonism, particularly in her depictions of mystical descents. Chapter 2 explores Dillard's challenges to Western Christianity's notions of an omnipotent God as she wrestles with questions about evil and suffering. Her synthesis of the Kabbalistic concepts of tsimtsum and shevirat ha-kelim with Christian kenotic theology allows her to create within her literary cosmos a God who elects to be self-limiting. Chapter 3 suggests that the inherent kenoticism of tsimtsum and shevirat ha-kelim enables Dillard to explore questions about evil and suffering within the tension of theodicean spaces created by gaps between apparently contradictory existential and spiritual truths. The chapter also proposes that Dillard's asyndetic style both reflects and creates deliberately unsettling textual ellipses that locate readers within the silence of theodicean spaces. Chapter 4 begins the arc of the thesis' movement toward redemption by demonstrating how gaps and absences within Dillard's work function not merely as theodicean spaces but also as affective absences that, like the mystical white spaces between the Torah's black letters, can become fecund, plurivocal gaps that engender mystery and meaning.

Understanding human dignity is integral to protecting human rights. An examination of Canada‘s Supreme Court decisions and Canadian public policy debates reveals that human dignity is being defined synonymously with individual autonomy and equality. This narrow understanding has serious implications for people who are not able to assert their autonomy. To understand the philosophical ideas behind these decisions, this thesis examines classical, modern, and postmodern accounts of human dignity and concludes that they fall short in providing an objective grounding for dignity that is truly human. It then looks to the Judeo- Christian account of human dignity to provide a transcendent foundation for human dignity. With this account, persons are rational and physical, relational, inviolable, and teleological – a hopeful contrast to the prevailing contemporary accounts. This thesis then defends the place of this religious perspective in our secular country.
vi, 182 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

Joseph Smith Junior, founder of the Mormon faith, presented himself to America and the world as a prophet with the same powers as the widely known prophetic figures of the Bible. Like Moses and Elijah, he made God's will known to humankind. Before assuming this role, Smith had used divining rods and then seer stones to find underground water, buried treasure, lost items, and stray livestock. This thesis charts Joseph Smith's progression from rodsman to seer to prophet. For the most part, I present Joseph Smith's divinatory development as he himself experienced it. Dowsing with a rod, seeing things in stones, and receiving heavenly revelations were as real to Smith as harvesting wheat. In order to understand his progression from rodsman to seer to prophet, one must first understand his worldview. The mental universe of early American water witches and village seers forms one of the historical and cultural contexts in which Joseph Smith developed his divinatory abilities.

xi, 69 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.
In the context of Judeo-Christian theology, I develop what appears to be the first formal economic model to analyze the joint interactions between human actors and a divine actor involved in the production of good works. Human actors are identified as trusting believers, doubting believers, or nonbelievers. The divine actor is perceived as offering four different alternative contracts, an ex ante contract without a penalty, an ex post contract, an ex ante contract with a penalty, and a covenant. Contract types are identified with specific religious affiliations. The amount of good works produced depends on the strength of faith and the contractual choices of the individual, as implied by religious affiliation. I test explicit predictions of the model using individual survey data from a nationally representative sample. My results suggest that (1) ex post contracts "work" (attendance is greater for trusting believers under ex post contracts than under ex ante contracts without a penalty); (2) strength of faith does not matter (good works are equivalent for both trusting and doubting believers under ex ante contracts); (3) penalties do not "work" for believers (attendance is no greater for believers under ex ante contracts with a penalty than under ex ante contracts without a penalty); and (4) covenants "work" (attendance is the same for believers under covenants as under ex ante contracts without a penalty). Tests focus either on the model's counterintuitive predictions for the role of strength of faith for a given contract type or on the role of religious affiliation and contract type for a given strength of faith. The tests suggest substantial power for the model's predictions. Even so, the dissertation emphasizes throughout the limitations of a purely economic analysis of the Judeo-Christian tradition and theology.
Committee in charge: Joe Stone, Co-Chairperson, Economics; Jo Anna Gray, Co-Chairperson, Economics; Larry Singell, Member, Economics; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt

The purpose of this study was to answer the research question, "Are there areas of philosophical agreement between the contemporary world views of secular humanism and Judeo-Christian traditionalism as they apply to public school curricula, or are these two belief systems mutually exclusive and irreconcilable?" The literature was reviewed with a focus on three areas: (1) the historical development of secular humanism, (2) the contemporary conflict between secular humanism and Judeo-Christian traditionalism regarding the public schools, and (3) this conflict as it is exemplified in "Family Life Education." Utilizing the statements of recognized secular humanist and Judeo-Christian traditionalist leaders, an attempt was made to clarify the philosophical positions of the two world views by having each side in the controversy "speak for itself." The guiding assumptions, beliefs, and values of these leaders were categorized into areas of standard philosophical inquiry, such as metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, and ethics, and into basic educational viewpoints. The resulting composite world views, validated by the reliability of their sources, provided for two comprehensive alternative philosophies of education: that of secular humanism ("humanism") and Judeo-Christian traditionalism ("traditionalism"). The two world views were summarily juxtaposed according to philosophical assumptions. Areas of agreement and conflict were located. In order then to determine the effects of the beliefs of humanism and traditionalism upon actual classroom curricula, a sample "Family Life Education" curriculum was examined from each world view. The sample was chosen as representative of those in use in over three hundred school districts nationwide. A noted humanist and two traditionalist authorities provided a supplemental verification of the results of the study. It can be concluded from this study that there are very few areas of philosophical agreement between humanism and traditionalism as they apply to the public schools. They are based upon mutually exclusive presuppositions and aside from the assumptions of logic, there are no major philosophical beliefs that humanism and traditionalism hold in common. When the public school attempts directly to shape human values, these two world views will come into conflict. They are fundamentally irreconcilable.

O presente trabalho procura analisar a relação entre judeus e cristãos no segundo século a partir dos elementos apresentados por S. Justino no Diálogo com Trifão. Para tanto, julgamos necessário contextualizar a obra no conjunto de transformações ocorridas no interior do Império Romano e na atuação do Estado frente às duas religiões. Desta forma, as Guerras Judaicas na Palestina e as perseguições aos cristãos repercutiram na relação entre judeus e cristãos. Além disso, pensamos que o judeucristianismo e algumas características do cristianismo na cidade de Roma nos ajudam a compreender melhor as intenções de Justino com sua obra. Discutiremos as principais teorias a respeito dos destinatários do Diálogo. Acreditamos ser possível investigar pontos de encontro e de aproximação entre judeus e cristãos, a partir daquilo que Justino demonstra conhecer sobre o judaísmo de seu tempo. No entanto, também é possível perceber no texto as tensões e rivalidades entre os dois grupos de crentes gestadas em um ambiente polêmico. Ambos os casos requerem uma análise mais crítica das palavras do apologista.
The aim of this essay is to analyze the relationship between Jews and Christians in the second century from the evidence presented by S. Justin in the Dialogue with Trypho. For this, we deem necessary to contextualize the work in the set of changes within the Roman Empire and the state action against the two religions. Thus, the Jewish War in Palestine and the persecution of Christians affected the relationship between Jews and Christians. Furthermore, we believe that Judeo-Christianity and some features of Christianity in Rome help us better understand the intentions of Justin with his work. We will discuss the main theories about the recipients of the Dialogue. We believe it is possible to investigate points of contact and rapprochement between Jews and Christians from what Justin knows about the Judaism of his time. However, the text also reveals the tensions and rivalries between the two groups of believers, gestated in a controversial environment. Both cases require a more critical analysis of the apologist´s words.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-05-06T11:21:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 luiscarlosdecarvalhosilva.pdf: 1046515 bytes, checksum: ff6391f151f652d84f7c35c729144d38 (MD5)
Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-06-07T15:48:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 luiscarlosdecarvalhosilva.pdf: 1046515 bytes, checksum: ff6391f151f652d84f7c35c729144d38 (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-07T15:48:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 luiscarlosdecarvalhosilva.pdf: 1046515 bytes, checksum: ff6391f151f652d84f7c35c729144d38 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-08
O objetivo desta dissertação é perscrutar a vida de Edith Stein, com o intuito de incluíla no rol dos precursores do Diálogo Judaico-Cristão. A base para essa hipótese está em sua obra “Sobre o problema da Empatia”, enquanto método fenomenológico que descreve a estruturação humana, donde brota o ímpeto dialogal e relacional. A tese de Stein inspira a apreensão espiritual do universo do outro, o que confirma a empatia como caminho de união entre Judeus e cristãos. A manifestação desse processo se verifica na biografia da autora, cujo itinerário demonstra que ela encarnou a empatia, relacionando-se com pessoas de diversas crenças em profundo respeito e harmonia, inclusive com o próprio Deus. Em Edith Stein se contempla a síntese da pessoa humana, inserida no conflito políticoreligioso do século XX. Apesar de rejeitada e humilhada pelo fato de ser mulher, judia, monja, e ter sua vida exterminada em Auschwitz, ela triunfa. O seu legado polissêmico e principalmente a sua contribuição antropológica estão refletidos nos documentos e declarações oficiais da Igreja Romana e das autoridades religiosas do judaísmo.
The obejctive of this dissertation is explore the life of Edith Stein, with the intention of include her on the list of precursors of the Jewish-Christian Dialog. The base of the hiphotesys is in her book “The problem of empathy”, while the phenomenological method that describes the human organization, where come the dialogic and relational momentum. The thesis of Stein inspires the spiritual apprehension of the universe of other, that confirms the empathy as way of union between Jews and Christians. The manifestation of this process is found in the biography of the author whose itinerary shows that she incarnated the empathy, relating with people of several beliefs in a deep respect and harmony, even with God himself. In Edith Stein contemplates the synthesis of the human person, inserted in the political-religious of the XX century. Besides rejected and humilated by the fact that she was a woman, judea, nun, and have your life exterminated in Auschwitz, she triumphs. Her legacy polysemic and especially your anthropological contribution are reflected in documents and oficial declaration of the Roman Church and religious authorities of Judaism.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:13:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ionara Cristine Lermen.pdf: 5175071 bytes, checksum: 7a8d2f2d74e8ca3b2496e27b56b89e77 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-11-04
This research aimed to understand which relationships and possible contributions, arising from the study of angelology, to the technological-scientific thinking in the area of communication and semiotics, media events from Angel's character in the movies. Conjectured that the figure of the Angel addressed within the study of angelology had relations and fundamental contributions to the field of communication, both similar in character, from the perspective of reasoning character "messenger", as well as persuasive element within the manifestations media in film, considering his character and religious mythological-archetypal followed by their relevance as semiotic sign, in particular, has also sought to understand the figure of the Angel from the studies of angelology (pseudoscience proposed within the study of religion, theology and philosophy, addressed in particular by the authors Arturo Blanco and Charles Ryrie and Judeo-Christian literature with reference to the Bible) and its categorization within the sciences, briefly adding their spheres of analysis within the cradle of these (philosophy) and the study of religion (theology), and to analyze in a descriptive interpretation based on comparative argument twenty-five films that include the character Angel (Western filmographies dated in the period between the late twentieth and early twenty-first century) generating categories of "types "recurring characters archetypally (theoretical guided especially Carl Jung and Christopher Vogler), He has helped the findings on concepts of communication theory that made use of the Angel as a metaphor for its phenomena, in particular by the authors' Michel Serres and Walter Benjamin and issues arising from modeling and translatability studies Semiotics of Culture, with its exponent, Iury Lotman. The theoretical-methodological procedure took around concepts based on media publications and media holders (motion pictures), proposed in descriptive, analytical and interpretive, generating a basic qualitative research. The work shows is important considering that the area of communication has proved lacking in research that promote interaction between scientific and technological studies pseudoscience, such as the angelology. How conclusive elements, brings desmitificam notes that the idealization of common sense Angel necessarily be basic Judeo-Christian film, permeated with new specificities and attributes that only introduces narativa well as attentive to the unfounded idea that characters Angels the fantastic genre, are recurring in film, thus leaving open the reflection of the possible contributions that digital technologies within the communication can provide for amplification, and dissemination "materialization" of the universe and its angelological signs, making use of the seventh art
A presente pesquisa objetivou compreender quais as relações e contribuições possíveis, advindas dos estudos da angelologia, para com o pensamento tecnológico-científico na área da comunicação e semiótica, a partir de manifestações midiáticas da personagem Anjo no cinema. Conjecturou-se que a figura do Anjo, abordada dentro dos estudos da angelologia possuía relações e contribuições fundamentais para com a área da comunicação, em caráter tanto análogo, sob a ótica da fundamentação de personagem mensageiro , bem como elemento persuasivo dentro das manifestações midiáticas no cinema, tendo em vista seu caráter mitológico-arquetípico e religioso seguido de sua relevância enquanto signo semiótico; Em específico, buscou ainda compreender a figura do Anjo a partir dos estudos da angelologia (pseudociência proposta dentro dos estudos da religião, da teologia e da filosofia, abordada em especial através dos autores Arturo Blanco e Charles Ryrie e de literatura judaico-cristã tendo como referência a Bíblia) e sua categorização dentro das ciências, agregando brevemente suas esferas de análise dentro do berço destas (filosofia) e do estudo das religiões (teologia), além de analisar de modo descritivo interpretativo com base no argumento comparativo, vinte e cinco filmes que contemplam a personagem Anjo (filmografias ocidentais datadas no período entre os final do século XX e início do século XXI) gerando categorias de "tipos" de personagens recorrentes arquetipicamente (referencial teórico pautado especialmente em Carl Jung e Christopher Vogler); Amparou as constatações em conceitos da teoria da comunicação que fizeram o uso do Anjo como metáfora para seus fenômenos, em especial através dos autores Michel Serres e Walter Benjamim e as questões da modelização e tradutibilidade advindas dos estudos da Semiótica da Cultura, com seu expoente, Iury Lotman. O procedimento teórico-metodológico se deu em torno de conceitos advindos de suportes bibliográficos e de suportes de mídia (filmes cinematográficos), em proposta descritiva, analítica e interpretativa, gerando uma pesquisa de base qualitativa. A obra mostra-se importante por considerar-se que a área da comunicação tem se mostrado carente de pesquisas que promovam a interação entre estudos tecnológicos científicos e as pseudociências, a exemplo da angelologia. Como elementos conclusivos, traz apontamentos que desmitificam a idealização do senso comum do Anjo ser necessariamente de base judaico-cristã no cinema, permeado por especificidades e novos atributos que apenas a narativa introduz, bem como atenta-se para a ideia infundada de que personagens Anjos no gênero fantástico, são recorrentes no cinema, deixando-se assim em aberto a reflexão das possíveis contribuições que as tecnologias digitais dentro da comunicação podem oferecer para a amplificação, disseminação e "materialização" do universo angelológico e seus signos, fazendo uso da sétima arte

This thesis compares biblical naziritic behaviour. Through the various, often diametrically opposed characterizations of nazîrs, we can trace the reasons for which conceptions of holiness gradually became pacifistic in the context of Judeo-Christianity (ca. 1250 BCE-150 CE). Two distinct models of biblical naziritism can be posited: the tribal and the cultic nazîr. The tribal nazîr is a lifelong warrior of Yahweh who is consecrated in the womb and must never cut his or her hair or drink wine. The cultic nazîr, however, engages in a temporary vow in which a priest consecrates him or her and, furthermore, the cultic nazîr must also swear off contact from dead bodies during the period of consecration. These classifications, however, serve as no more than signposts to mark the limits of possibility. Often opposing traits and inconsistencies coexist within the characterization of a given naziritic figure. We can make sense of these contradictory representations as follows: when Israel was no more than a warring tribe (ca. 1250-1000 BCE) in Caanan eking out an existence in the promised land, religious heroes had to be warriors of some kind, but as the circumstances of Israel and Judah evolved over centuries, so that the Israelites and Judahites were increasingly subject to the rule of foreign powers, the Jewish priestly ruling class had to make amendments to presuppositions of holiness in order to discourage violent behaviour. The movement away from holy warrior continues to shift further until the incarnation of the holy person in early Christianity is far from militaristic.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a new technology which allows people to identify objects automatically but there is a suspicion that, if people are tracked, their privacy may be infringed. This raises questions about how far this technology is acceptable and how privacy should be protected. It is also initiated a discussion involving a wide range of technical, philosophical, political, social, cultural, and economical aspects. There is also a need to consider the ethical and theological perspectives. This dissertation takes all its relevant directions from a Judeo-Christian theological perspective. On one side the use of technology is considered, and on the other side the value of privacy, its infringements and protection are investigated. According to Jewish and Christian understanding human dignity has to be respected including the right to privacy. As a consequence of this RFID may only used for applications that do not infringe this right. This conclusion, however, is not limited to RFID; it will be relevant for other, future surveillance technologies as well.
Philosophy & Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Theological ethics)

Cette thèse s’intéresse aux collaborations et au partage du savoir entre intellectuels juifs et chrétiens, en France, durant les XIIIe et XIVe siècles et propose une analyse comparative des différents échanges, dans trois domaines distincts : théologie, philosophie et astronomie. En prenant en compte les sources latines et hébraïques qui témoignent de cette transmission du savoir, nous proposons une étude approfondie divisée en deux parties. La première s’intéresse à l’évolution de l’enseignement dans les communautés juives et dans la société chrétienne. La seconde analyse le contexte de rédaction des Extractiones de Talmut, la transmission du savoir entre Maïmonide et Thomas d’Aquin, la collaboration étroite entre Jacob ben Makhir et Armengaud Blaise, ainsi que l’échange intellectuel significatif entre Gersonide et ses confrères chrétiens. Notre objectif est de répondre aux questions suivantes : les savants chrétiens et juifs recevaient-ils l’information selon leur propre valeur intellectuelle, ne tenant pas compte de leur provenance ? Et existait-il une influence directe de l’un et de l’autre ? Cette étude tente ainsi de montrer les différents motifs de ces échanges à travers un champ contextuel constitué par un événement intellectuel précis. Nous verrons ainsi que ces relations vacillent entre méfiance et admiration.
This thesis sheds lights on collaborations and transfer of knowledge between Jewish and Christian scholars in France during the 13th and 14th centuries. We propose a comparative analysis of different exchanges, in three distinct areas: theological, philosophical and astronomical. Taking into account the Latin and Hebrew sources that testify this transmission of knowledge, we propose an in-depth study, dividing in two sections. The first part narrates the evolution of education in the Jewish communities and in Christian society. The second part analyses the context of the Extractiones de Talmut, the transmission of knowledge between Maimonides and Thomas Aquinas, the close collaboration between Jacob ben Makhir and Armengaud Blaise, as well as the significant intellectual exchange between Gersonides and his fellow Christians. Our objective is to answer the following questions: did Christian and Jewish scholars receive information according to their own intellectual value, ignoring their source? And was there a direct influence from one scholar towards the other? Thus, this study demonstrates the different motives of these exchanges through a contextual field constituted by a specific intellectual event. We will perceive that these relations vacillate between mistrust and admiration.