Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Kingdom of Heaven'

This project interrogates how religious performance, either authentic or contrived, aids in the quest for freedom for oppressed peoples; how the rhetoric of the Enlightenment era pervades literatures delivered or written by Native Americans and African Americans; and how religious modes, such as evoking scripture, performing sacrifices, or relying upon providence, assist oppressed populations in their roles as early American authors and speakers. Even though the African American and Native American populations of early America before the eighteenth century were denied access to rights and freedom, they learned to manipulate these imposed constraints--renouncing the expectation that they should be subordinate and silent--to assert their independent bodies, voices, and spiritual identities through the use of literary expression. These performative strategies, such as self-fashioning, commanding language, destabilizing republican rhetoric, or revising narrative forms, become the tools used to present three significant strands of identity: the individual person, the racialized person, and the spiritual person. As each author resists the imposed restrictions of early American ideology and the resulting expectation of inferior behavior, he/she displays abilities within literature (oral and written forms) denied him/her by the political systems of the early republican and early national eras. Specifically, they each represent themselves in three ways: first, as a unique individual with differentiated abilities, exceptionalities, and personality; second, as a person with distinct value, regardless of skin color, cultural difference, or gender; and third, as a sanctified and redeemed Christian, guaranteed agency and inheritance through the family of God. Furthermore, the use of religion and spirituality allows these authors the opportunity to function as active agents who were adapting specific verbal and physical methods of self-fashioning through particular literary strategies. Doing so demonstrates that they were not the unrefined and unfeeling individuals that early American political and social restrictions had made them--that instead they were intellectually and morally capable of making both physical and spiritual contributions to society while reciprocally deserving to possess the liberties and freedoms denied them.

Maurice Nicoll (1884-1953) was a Harley Street doctor, an analytical psychologist trained by C. G. Jung (1875-1961), and a student of the independent 'spiritual' teachers G. I. Gurdjieff (1866-1949) and P. D. Ouspensky (1878-1947). In his later years he became a mystical philosopher, a biblical exegete, and leader of his own groups of students. Early in his life he rejected his natal Christian religion associated with his father, Sir William Robertson Nicoll (1851-1923), eminent litterateur and Free Church of Scotland minister. Vindication of this rejection came to Maurice Nicoll through a mystical experience: a 'moment of insight' which propelled him into a life-long search to discover what 'really mattered'. I will argue that although this apparently involved a journey away from his natal Christian practice, Nicoll came to understand that he was working towards a 'truer' form of it. Nicoll's oeuvre as a whole - published works as well as archival sources, including a large amount of recently discovered original material - will be analysed to show the development of his thinking on what he came to call 'esoteric Christianity'. After a biographical 'portrait' the start of Nicoll's journey will be presented as a reaction against the religious stance of his father. Maurice Nicoll's early 'moment of insight' is described and analysed in the light of the ideas of William James (1842-1910) on mystical experience. Following this Nicoll's first book, Dream Psychology (1917), an interpretation of the views of Jung which demonstrates clearly the early formative influence of Jung on Nicoll is treated. I then turn to Living Time (1931), in which Nicoll integrates Ouspenksy's ideas on time and higher dimensions into his own psychological system. Following the influence of Jung and early Ouspensky, Nicoll's next work reveals the influence of the system of ideas and practices known as 'the Work' taught by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, which Nicoll encountered at first hand in Gurdjieff's colony near Paris and subsequently at Ouspensky's classes in London. The Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of G.I. Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky (1957) was compiled from notes used by Nicoll in teaching his groups his own version of 'the Work' from 1931. However, the completion of Nicoll's quest for an understanding of 'esoteric Christianity', it will be argued, is documented in his two mature texts, The New Man (1950) and The Mark (1954). These books analyse New Testament writings in the light of influences partly absorbed from Jung, but most centrally from Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. In these books Nicoll interprets the narrative theology of the New-Testament texts in terms of a form of 'esoteric psychology', encapsulating his vision of how 'the Kingdom of Heaven' is really to be understood: not in terms of a life after death, or a millennial restoration of Christ's Kingdom, but as the psychological development and fulfilment of the individual in this life. It is argued that this 'esoteric psychology' is Nicoll's version of the psychology he saw as underlying the Gurdjieff-Ouspensky system, but given an explicitly Christian locus and interpretation. In conclusion some reflections are made on the significance of understanding Nicoll's writings as 'esoteric Christianity' and their implications for contemporary religious thought.

The following study is a comparative analysis on the usage of history in Ridley Scott’s epic Kingdom of Heaven. Based on the thesis that this movie has a lot to say about contemporary political values, it compares the theatrical version from 2005 with the 45 minute extended Director’s Cut, which came out on DVD in 2006. Firmly based in the popular-cultural context I tried to evaluate whether these changes related in any way, to matters concerning the current gender debate and post-colonial theory. The comparison was made in order to try and determine whether the changes made in-between the two versions contained significant political hotspots, which in turn related to my scientific theories. In a contemporary context characterized by gender issues as well as religious warfare, secularism and multiculturalism, I found this movie particularly interesting to analyze.  Concerning the results of my analysis, I found the extended version to be containing a significant amount of political hotspots, which were cut out of the theatrical version. From a gender perspective I found the roles of gender to be problematized in the extended cut, especially when one takes into account that the movies female protagonist became more multifaceted than in the theatrical cut. Regarding the postcolonial, I found the extended version to be heavily influenced by contemporary values in the matter. The secular humanistic and multicultural-affirming message which defined both versions was made more obvious in the Director’s Cut. Fundamentalism was heavily criticized regardless of the characters’ cultural origins.

The quest for the historical Jesus can be advanced by a consideration of disagreement scenarios recorded in the gospels. Such “conflicts” afford the opportunity not only to analyse the positions of the protagonists, but by comparing them, to better appreciate their relative stances. ¶ One area of disagreement that has remained largely unexplored is that between Jesus and the Pharisees over the “kingdom of God”. Indeed, “kingdom of God” formed the very foundation of Jesus’ preaching and thus ought to be the place where fundamental disagreements are to be found. As Luke 17:20-21 represents the only passage in the Gospels where the Pharisees show any interest in the kingdom of God, it forms the central hub of the thesis around which an account of the disparate beliefs of Jesus and the Pharisees on the kingdom of God is constructed. ¶ The main thesis is this. Luke 17:20-21 can best be explained, at the level of the Pharisees and Jesus, as betraying a fundamental disagreement, not in the identity of the kingdom of God, which they both regarded as primarily the Divine Royal Presence, i.e. God himself as king, but in the location of that kingdom. The Pharisees located the kingdom in the here-and-now, Jesus located it in heaven. Conversely, at later stages in the formation of the pericope, the pre-Lukan community identified the kingdom as the Holy Spirit located in individuals with faith in Jesus and the redactor identified the kingdom as Jesus, located both in the Historical Jesus and the Jesus now in heaven. ¶ Chapter 1, after the usual preliminary remarks, presents an analysis of Luke 17:20-21 as a chreia, a literary form ideally suited as the basis on which to compare the beliefs of the Pharisees and Jesus. The work of three scholars vital to the development of the main thesis is then reviewed and evaluated. By way of background, a portrait of the Pharisees is then presented, highlighting in particular, issues that will be of importance in later chapters. Finally, a section on the Aramaic Targums suggests that some targum traditions may be traced back prior to AD 70 and that these reflect the influence and beliefs of first century Palestinian Pharisees. ¶ Chapters 2 and 3 are a consideration of every instance of the explicit mention of God as king (or his kingship) and the Divine Kingdom respectively, in contemporary and earlier Jewish Palestinian literature and in Luke-Acts. A model of the kingdom of God is developed in these chapters that will be applied to Luke 17:20-21 in the next chapter. ¶ Chapter 4 presents a detailed exegesis of Luke 17:20-21, taking into account scholarship on the pericope since the last monograph (an unpublished dissertation of 1962) on the chreia. It offers a composition history of the pericope and measures previous exegesis against the view of the kingdom of God as developed in chapters 2 and 3. ¶ Chapter 5 presents a summary of the work that relates directly to Luke 17:20-21, some implications arising from the findings and, several possible avenues for future research.

I den här uppsatsen har jag undersökt hur Jesus förkunnelse om Guds rike kan förstås utifrån Lukasevangeliet. Att närstudera ett enda evangelium, och dessutom inte hela evangeliet utan bara fyra perikoper i det, innebär en mycket tydlig avgränsning. Värdet i att försöka förstå vad Jesus säger utifrån denna enskilda sammanhängande källa är att den kan ha ett större djup än en bild som sätts ihop av ett godtyckligt antal fragment från olika källor. I Lukasevangeliet nämner Jesus ordet rike med syftning på Guds rike över 20 gånger fördelat på 18 episoder. Med metoden diskursanalys har jag delat in dessa ställen i tre kategorier som jag kallar diskurs A, B och C. Diskurs A handlar om att Guds rike har högsta prioritet, men beskriver inte riket. Diskurs B beskriver på olika sätt hur Guds rike är. Diskurs C omtalar Guds rike som ett löfte. De fyra perikoper jag analyserar i detalj representerar på olika sätt de diskurser jag identifierat i evangeliet som helhet. Luk 11:1-4 hör till diskurs A, Luk 11:14-23 och Luk 17:20-21 till diskurs B, och Luk 22:24-30 till diskurs C. Traditionen att författaren till dubbelverket Lukasevangeliet och Apostlagärningarna är just Lukas går tillbaka till mitten av 100-talet. Verket utmärks av universalism och en viss syn på rikedom och fattigdom som antagligen kom från författarens församling i Antiochia. Där predikades evangeliet för icke-judar, och där fanns engagemanget i de fattiga och behövande. Det var viktigt att inte fastna i det världsliga livet och lockas att samla rikedomar. Lärjungaskapet skulle vara helhjärtat. När Jesus talar om Guds rike i Lukasevangeliet kan det låta som om det handlar om ett territorium. Men begreppet Guds rike, i grundtexten ἡ βασιλείατοῦΘεοῦ, betyder snarare Guds herravälde. Det är inte ett område eller en plats, utan ett tillstånd som är bestämt av att Gud regerar. Samtidigt är det omöjligt att härska i ingenstans, så det finns ändå ett underförstått territorium i begreppet. Det fanns en dubbelhet i uppfattningen om Guds rike på Jesus tid som innebar att det både var en aktuell tillämplig föreställning på världens aktuella situation och en eskatologisk föreställning. Genom en detaljexegetisk analys av grundtexten för varje perikop har jag nått fram till slutsatser om texternas teologiska budskap om Guds rike. Analysen av Luk 11:1-4 visar att Herrens bön innehåller en indirekt beskrivning av Guds rike som ett idealtillstånd. Gud förutsätts ha makten att få riket till stånd, men människornas vilja och aktivitet spelar också roll. Perikopen Luk 11:14-20 visar att Guds rike är där Gud verkar. Det kan vara här och nu. Gud verkar i Jesus när han befriar en man från en stum demon. Men han verkar inte bara i Jesus utan i alla som gör gott. I perikopen Luk 17:20-21 ställs frågan när Guds rike ska komma, och Jesus svarar på ett sätt som får det att verka inom räckhåll redan i nuet. I Jesus löfte till lärjungarna om jämlik gemenskap med honom själv i sitt eget rike i Luk 22:28-30 jämställer han sig själv med Gud. Han lovar en framtid i härlighet för dem som är honom trogna. Ett försök till syntes av de teologiska budskap som analysen av varje perikop lett fram till är att Guds rike enligt Lukasevangeliet verkar syfta på det alltigenom godas seger över det onda. Begreppet mister dock inte sin mångtydighet och gåtfullhet för det. Det analyserna främst bidrar till är att belysa grundtextens möjliga betydelser, som med nödvändighet begränsas i varje översättning.
In this thesis I have examined how Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God can be understood from the Gospel of Luke. A close examination of a single gospel, and moreover not the whole gospel but only four pericopes in it, narrows the scope considerably. The value in trying to understand what Jesus is saying based on this single coherent source is that it can have a greater depth than the picture put together by any number of fragments from different sources. In Luke's Gospel Jesus mentions the word kingdom as referring to the Kingdom of God over 20 times, in a total of 18 episodes. With the method of discourse analysis, I have divided these occurrences into three categories which I call the discourse of A, B and C. Discourse A is about the kingdom of God having the highest priority, but there is no description of the kingdom. Discourse B describes the kingdom of God in some way. Discourse C mentions the kingdom of God as a promise. The four pericopes I analyze in detail, in different ways represent the discourses I have identified in the gospel as a whole. Lk 11:1-4 belong to discourse A, Lk 11:14-23 and Lk 17:20-21 to discourse B, and Lk 22:24-30 to discourse C. The tradition that the author of the double work of Luke-Acts is precisely Luke, goes back to the mid 100's. The work is characterized by universalism and a certain vision of wealth and poverty that probably came from the author's congregation in Antioch. There the gospel to non-Jews was preached, and there was commitment in the poor and needy. It was important not to get caught up in the worldly life and be tempted to accumulate wealth. Discipleship should be wholehearted. When Jesus speaks of the kingdom of God in the Gospel of Luke, it may sound as if it is about a territory. But the concept of the kingdom of God, in the original text ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ means rather God's dominion. It is not an area or a place, but a state that is determined by God's reign. At the same time, it is impossible to rule ”nowhere”, so there is still a territory implicit in the concept. There was a duality in the perception of the kingdom of God in Jesus' time, which meant that it was both a way of conceiving the world's current situation and an eschatological concept. Through a detailed exegetical analysis of the basic text for each pericope I have reached conclusions on the theological message of the kingdom of God in the texts. The analysis of Lk 11:1-4 shows that the Lord's Prayer contains an indirect description of God's kingdom as an ideal state. God is assumed to have the power to bring the kingdom into being, but the human will and activity also plays a role. Pericope Lk 11:14-20 shows that God's kingdom is where God is at work. It can be here and now. God works through Jesus when he frees a man from a dumb demon. But he doesn't only work through Jesus but through all who do good. In pericope Lk 17:20-21 the question of when the kingdom of God will come is asked, and Jesus responds in a way that makes the kingdom seem within reach already in the present. In Jesus' promise to the disciples of equal fellowship with him in his own kingdom in Lk 22:28-30, he equates himself with God. He promises a future of glory for those who are faithful to him. An attempt at a synthesis of the theological messages that the analyses of the four pericopes led to, is that the kingdom of God according to the Gospel of Luke seems to refer to the victory of the perfect good over evil. The concept of the kingdom remains ambiguous and mysterious. What the analyses contribute to is mainly highlighting the possible meanings of the received text, which are inevitably limited in each translation.

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to understand how theories of organizational culture canenrich our understanding of Matthew’s group, his parable speech and the parables of thekingdom of heaven. I argue that Matthew edited and constructed the parable speech to fit hisintentions so that he could call for righteous behavior from the members of his group. I thenargue that the parable speech can be viewed as a regulatory document that addresses externalproblems of adaption and internal problems of integration that Matthew’s group had to face.I also argue that the parables of the kingdom of heaven are related to externaland internal problems and that the parables can be understood as artifacts that express thepreferred behavior applied by the leaders of Matthew’s group.My conclusion is that the theories of organizational culture give us a betterunderstanding of the complex situation of Matthew’s group and that the parable speech isrelated to these issues and addresses the group. It can therefore be considered a regulatorydocument. The parables of the kingdom of heaven can be understood as stories that call forrighteous behavior and persuade the Jewish people to join Matthew’s group through followingthe law according to view held by Matthew’s group.

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Matthew s community was a splinter group of Judaism. It was formed by Jewish Christians who suffered exclusion from the larger community of Judaism in training. After AD 70 with the destruction of the temple and the expulsion of the Jews from Jerusalem, Judaism underwent a change in its structure. During this transformation, she sought a new identity for the Jewish community. In this process, the Judeo- Christian community was driven out of the Synagogue and also had to develop its identity. This research revolves around Mt 5.20. This verse is the key to understanding the life of the Matthean community and its transformative proposal. Subsequent communities always, throughout history, have sought inspiration in the Matthean community vision around justice. One is the maroon community. This could hope to find when approaching these words that motivated the liberation of a people who lived homeless, landless and without shelter in a foreign land.
A comunidade de Mateus foi um grupo dissidente do judaísmo. Ela foi formada por judeu-cristãos que sofreram exclusão por parte da comunidade maior do judaísmo em formação. Depois do ano 70 d.C., com a destruição do templo e expulsão dos judeus de Jerusalém, o judaísmo passou por uma mudança em sua estrutura. Durante essa transformação, ela buscou uma nova identidade para a comunidade judaica. Nesse processo, a comunidade judaico-cristã foi expulsa da Sinagoga e teve que elaborar também a sua identidade. Esta pesquisa gira em torno de Mt 5,20. Este versículo é a chave para se compreender a vida da comunidade mateana e sua proposta transformadora. Comunidades posteriores sempre, ao longo da história, buscaram inspirações comunitárias na visão mateana em torno da justiça. Uma delas é a comunidade quilombola. Ela pôde encontrar esperança ao aproximar-se dessa palavra (justiça) que motivara a libertação de um povo, que vivia sem pátria, sem-terra e sem amparo em uma terra estrangeira.

In dieser Arbeit wurden Angebotskurven für 22 bedeutende Ölförderländer ermittelt und anschließend zu globalen Angebotskurven aggregiert. Gemäß den ermittelten Angebotskurven sind nahezu alle gegenwärtig in der Förderphase befindlichen Ölprojekte in den Untersuchungsländern auch beim aktuellen Ölpreis von 35 bis 40 US-$ je Barrel unter Berücksichtigung der kurzfristigen Grenzkosten rentabel. Sollte der Ölpreis jedoch in den kommenden Jahren auf diesem Niveau verharren, wird es bis zum Jahr 2024 zu einem Angebotsengpass auf dem globalen Ölmarkt kommen, da zur Deckung der zukünftigen Nachfrage die Erschließung kostenintensiver, unkonventioneller Lagerstätten und von Lagerstätten in tiefen und sehr tiefen Gewässern notwendig ist. Damit es bis zum Jahr 2024 nicht zu einem solchen Angebotsengpass kommt, ist gemäß des ermittelten langfristigen Marktgleichgewichts ein Ölpreis von mindestens 80 (2014er) US-$ je Barrel notwendig.

Cheung Pui Yee Albert.
Thesis (M.Div.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012.
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Abstract --- p.i
論文摘要 --- p.iii
Introduction --- p.1
Chapter Chapter 1 --- The Kingdom of God/Heaven and Matthew's Church --- p.3
Chapter 1.1 --- The Kingdom of God/Heaven --- p.3
Chapter 1.1.1 --- The Kingdom as Apocalyptic Eschatology --- p.4
Chapter 1.1.2 --- The Kingdom as Realized Eschatology --- p.6
Chapter 1.1.3 --- The Kingdom in the Present and the Future --- p.7
Chapter 1.2 --- The Situation of Matthew's Church --- p.9
Chapter Chapter 2 --- The Kingdom Parables in Matthew 13 --- p.12
Chapter 2.1 --- The Parables in Matthew --- p.12
Chapter 2.2 --- The Structure and Context of Matthew 13 --- p.13
Chapter 2.3 --- The Parable of the Sower --- p.16
Chapter 2.4 --- The Interpretation of the Parable of the Sower --- p.17
Chapter 2.5 --- The Parable of the Tares --- p.20
Chapter 2.6 --- The Interpretation of the Parable of the Tares --- p.23
Chapter 2.7 --- The Parable of the Mustard Seed --- p.27
Chapter 2.8 --- The Parable of the Leaven --- p.28
Chapter 2.9 --- The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and of the Pearl --- p.29
Chapter 2.10 --- The Parable of the Net --- p.31
Chapter 2.11 --- Concluding Parable: Treasures New and Old --- p.33
Chapter Chapter 3 --- Matthew's Concepts of the Kingdom of Heaven and of the Church --- p.36
Chapter 3.1 --- Matthew's Concept of the Kingdom --- p.36
Chapter 3.2 --- Matthew's Church and His Understanding of the Church --- p.38
Chapter Chapter 4 --- Reflections and Applications --- p.42
Chapter 4.1 --- Use of Parables --- p.42
Chapter 4.2 --- Urban and Wealthy Church --- p.43
Chapter 4.3 --- Making Disciples --- p.44
Chapter 4.4 --- Handling of Offending Members and Forgiveness --- p.45
Chapter 4.5 --- The Kingdom of Heaven and the Church --- p.46
Conclusion --- p.47
Bibliography --- p.48

The relationship between Law and Gospel remains something of a conundrum for biblical scholarship. A significant factor contributing to this difficulty is the interpretation of Matthew 5:17, and in particular what is meant by Jesus’ having come “to fulfil” the Law and the Prophets. What precisely is meant by “to fulfil the Law and the Prophets” is an exegetical enigma. Utilizing an eclectic array of methods, including literary, historical, and theological approaches, this study attempts to articulate the nature of fulfilment in Matthew 5:17. We begin by surveying a selection of previous contributions, from which we deduce four possible interpretations. Next, we outline the historical, literary, and theological contexts, in order to provide the background for the exegetical and theological discussions that follow. This leads us into a thorough exegesis of Matthew 5:17-20, with special attention directed towards the key term ω. We argue that ω is best understood in light of its usage elsewhere in Matthew, highlighting its salvation-historical significance. In addition, we argue that the focus on the Law and the Prophets, Matthew’s understanding of the prophetic function of the Law (11:13), and the so-called antitheses of 5:21-48, lead us to understand “to fulfil” as the realization of what the Law and the Prophets – the Old Testament – pointed towards. When Jesus says that he has come to “fulfil” the Law and the Prophets he means that all that they anticipated has now come about in him. But it is important to move beyond regular historical-critical methods of exegesis and also to examine the passage in light of its biblical-theological significance: what did the Law and Prophets anticipate? Our study attempts to advance discussion of ω in this passage by considering how ‘biblical theology’ might aid us in understanding what precisely was pointed towards by the Old Testament. We therefore discuss the bearing of a theology of the kingdom of God on Matthew 5:17. The significance of the concept of the kingdom of God/heaven – mentioned three times in Matthew 5:17-20, central in both Matthew’s Gospel and the Sermon on the Mount, and descriptive of Jesus’ mission (4:17) – has often been overlooked in the interpretation of this passage. In addition to regular arguments made on the basis of historical-critical exegesis – including discussion of the nature of ω in Matthew’s Gospel, the sense in which the Law prophesies, and the contribution of the so-called antitheses of 5:21-48 – we argue that the biblical-theological theme of the kingdom of God clarifies a salvation-historical reading of these verses. The concept of the kingdom of God provides a helpful lens through which to understand the nature of the fulfilment brought about by Jesus. When the theme of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament is considered, it is seen that this concept summarizes the Jewish hope – it is what the Law and the Prophets pointed towards. Therefore, when it is said that Jesus has come “to fulfil” the Law and the Prophets, an eschatological or salvation-historical reading shows that what the Law pointed towards has arrived in the teaching and ministry of Jesus. But a biblical-theological reading of the kingdom of God helps us to add a measure of precision to this statement. Jesus “fulfils” the Law and the Prophets by bringing into being what they anticipated: the kingdom of God, to which the Old Testament looked forward, has come. What the Law and Prophets anticipated was the arrival of the kingdom of God. “Fulfilment”, then, should be construed in terms of this motif. Jesus fulfils the Law and the Prophets by inaugurating the kingdom of God, which they anticipated. This bypasses discussions over whether it is primarily Jesus’ teaching or Jesus’ life that is in view, since the kingdom of God is inaugurated through both.
MA (New Testament), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The thesis summarizes conclusions of exegetical studies of all fourteen texts containing a word "treasury" (thesauros) according to concordance of the Greek New Testament, and furthermore in three instances substitutes for treasury, using lingual and textual analysis and accessible Czech and foreign language commentaries. As far as other terms are concerned, a term "talent/mina" is used in the Gospel of Mathew and Luke in The parable of the talent/minas, where "talent/mina" fulfills all internal and external attributes for "treasury". In the Gospel of John, where we find no term "treasury", there is chosen "ointment" in the story of Anointing in Bethany for its symbolic meaning and relation to the Easter, where John's version is compared with description of the story in the synoptic gospels. Classifying of concluding interpretational frames of all seventeen texts, we get several fundamental models characterizing the role of "treasury" in the New Testament from the point of view of substance, allegory, symbolism or connotation. The treasury is the image of something precious, strange to the world, something we have a very small experience with, because we usually have not opportunity to be confronted with it. Therefore we need to be led by the values, we have accepted by feeling of Holy Spirit as ours. The...

The quest for the historical Jesus can be advanced by a consideration of disagreement scenarios recorded in the gospels. Such “conflicts” afford the opportunity not only to analyse the positions of the protagonists, but by comparing them, to better appreciate their relative stances. One area of disagreement that has remained largely unexplored is that between Jesus and the Pharisees over the “kingdom of God”. Indeed, “kingdom of God” formed the very foundation of Jesus’ preaching and thus ought to be the place where fundamental disagreements are to be found. As Luke 17:20-21 represents the only passage in the Gospels where the Pharisees show any interest in the kingdom of God, it forms the central hub of the thesis around which an account of the disparate beliefs of Jesus and the Pharisees on the kingdom of God is constructed. The main thesis is this. Luke 17:20-21 can best be explained, at the level of the Pharisees and Jesus, as betraying a fundamental disagreement, not in the identity of the kingdom of God, which they both regarded as primarily the Divine Royal Presence, i.e. God himself as king, but in the location of that kingdom. The Pharisees located the kingdom in the here-and-now, Jesus located it in heaven. Conversely, at later stages in the formation of the pericope, the pre-Lukan community identified the kingdom as the Holy Spirit located in individuals with faith in Jesus and the redactor identified the kingdom as Jesus, located both in the Historical Jesus and the Jesus now in heaven. Chapter 1, after the usual preliminary remarks, presents an analysis of Luke 17:20-21 as a chreia, a literary form ideally suited as the basis on which to compare the beliefs of the Pharisees and Jesus. The work of three scholars vital to the development of the main thesis is then reviewed and evaluated. By way of background, a portrait of the Pharisees is then presented, highlighting in particular, issues that will be of importance in later chapters. Finally, a section on the Aramaic Targums suggests that some targum traditions may be traced back prior to AD 70 and that these reflect the influence and beliefs of first century Palestinian Pharisees. Chapters 2 and 3 are a consideration of every instance of the explicit mention of God as king (or his kingship) and the Divine Kingdom respectively, in contemporary and earlier Jewish Palestinian literature and in Luke-Acts. A model of the kingdom of God is developed in these chapters that will be applied to Luke 17:20-21 in the next chapter. Chapter 4 presents a detailed exegesis of Luke 17:20-21, taking into account scholarship on the pericope since the last monograph (an unpublished dissertation of 1962) on the chreia. It offers a composition history of the pericope and measures previous exegesis against the view of the kingdom of God as developed in chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 5 presents a summary of the work that relates directly to Luke 17:20-21, some implications arising from the findings and, several possible avenues for future research.

This thesis focuses on the analysis of John the Baptist by using exegetical methods in the context of the gospel of Matthew. The thesis begins with a short introduction of the gospel of Matthew and the background of the analyzed texts Mt 3,1-12 (which deals with the activities of John the Baptist, the controversy between him and the Sadducees and Pharisees, and John's warning against the Last Judgment) and Mt 11,1-19 (which describes doubts concerning Jesus' mission, Jesus' confirmation of John's part, and the rejection of John's and Jesus' proclamations by the Jewish party). This part briefly summarizes the interpreted texts as well as the description, division, and broader framework of their background or parallel comparison of the synoptics. A translation of the verses from Greek to Czech follows which is accompanied by annotations, interesting facts, references to the peculiarities that arise from the translation, or differences among the Czech and other foreign translations of the Bible. Then comes the exegesis of the individual verses supplemented by findings acquired through research, followed by a summary of the chapter. The central source of information for this thesis is predominantly the biblical text itself, supplemented by information found in several commentaries, articles, monographs,...

Bc. Ji í Ondruš The Jesus' Beatitudes in the Context of the Gospel of Matthew Anotace v anglickém jazyce: The Jesus' Beatitudes cannot be understood as a completely isolated part of Jesus' teaching. Therefore, the knowledge of the whole gospel of Matthew is necessary for their understanding. In this thesis I compare the individual words contained in the Beatitudes with the same words in the Gospel of Matthew outside the Beatitudes. By this means I find the meaning of Jesus' message in the Beatitudes contained in the Gospel of Matthew. I also present and compare ancient Greek copies (the Sinai Code and the Vatican Code) and six most famous Czech translations of this Gospel. I also compare the exegesis of well-known biblical scholars, especially what they agree on, but also what they fundamentally differ on. An important part is also a synoptic comparison with the Beatitudes of the evangelist Luke. The aim of this thesis is to get as close as possible to the meaning of the specific section of Mt 5: 1-12, which represents the lifelong program of Jesus' followers, but also Jesus. Jesus introduces himself at the beginning of the mountain sermon. He speaks not only of how his disciples are supposed to be, but also of how he is.

The present diploma thesis is an exegetical attempt to interpret Paul's parenesis in his Letter to the Romans 14,1-15,13. It tries to find answers to the following questions: Who are the "strong in faith" (15:1)? Who are the "weak in faith" (14:1)? What "day" is meant in chapter 14:5? What kind of dietary restrictions are in the background of 14:2? What is the solution that Paul suggests? The analysis has led to the following conclusions: Paul is trying to resolve a particular dispute between two groups of believers in Rome. The "weak" probably had a problem with the "strong" eating the meat and drinking the wine defiled with idolatry (14:21) and not keeping fasting days, or certain Jewish feast days (14:3). So, the "weak" may be identified as the Jewish Christians and the "strong" with the Christians of gentile origins. Paul tries to move both groups away from judging each other (14:3) to respect the opinion of the other group (14:4) and leads them above all to mutually build loving relationships to each other (14:19). Key words: weak in faith, strong in faith, day, food, dietetary restriction, Lord, Christ, Kingdom of heaven

This thesis is designed to outline the systematic-theological and theological-historical basis for the Eschatological Gospel of Both Comings of Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha Mashiach). This cohesively combines Jesus‘ First Coming (for redemption, reconciliation and restoration) with His Second Coming (for the Rapture/Resurrection of the Church/Body of Christ and judgment at the Day of the Lord/Yahweh) into the complete salvation of the Church. The historical writings of the Patristic, Ante- and Post-Nicene Fathers are examined to ensure the continuity of this Eschatological Gospel message being communicated through their writings to the Early Church. The remainder of Church history is examined to ensure the Eschatological Gospel continued to be communicated by the Church as a part of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. Then, in keeping with the eschatological prophetic intent of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares (Weeds) in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, of both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan coexisting and growing until ―the end of the age,‖ the antithesis of the Eschatological Gospel is examined—Satan‘s plan of lies, deception and heresy throughout history, culminating with the explosion of activity since 1948. This satanic plan is described as being not only insidiously deceptive by recruiting converts to the kingdom of darkness in rebellion and opposition to the kingdom of God, but also as preparing the way for the End-time/Last Days‘ ten-nation confederacy to be led by the antichrist. Biblical chronology is used to trace the history of both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness to the present day. Finally, the ―Signs of the Times‖ in modern history are examined, thereby showing the need for the Eschatological Gospel to be taught in the twenty-first century, especially as the day of the Lord Jesus Christ‘s Parousia rapidly approaches.
Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics
D.Th. (Systematic Theology)

碩士
國立中央大學
歷史研究所碩士在職專班
98
The Chinese women were regarded uselessness in the viewpoint of themselves, non talent in the viewpoint of their parents, inability in the viewpoint of their husbands and ignorance under the patriarchal domination of the Chinese society. However, the woman policy disclosed the gender equality in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The women presenting free independent style in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were huge different between the women with weak image in late-Qing period. The purpose of the article was to examine the living situation and status change of a series of woman policies in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, compared with the status of British women and made a fair objective appraisal to the women of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The first part was the women’s life background of earlier Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. At first, the research was to explore the origin of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Hakka’s women and illustrated the factors of history and natural environment which made the spirit of Hakka’s women, moreover, the reasons of founding Taiping Rebellion. And then elaborated the creation and development of God worshipping and analyzed the women’s thought in the religious doctrines which proved that there was no sexual equality in the woman policy. At last, the research revealed the origins, organizations, duties and statuses of “female camp” in earlier Taiping Rebellion. The second part was to discuss the status of woman and living styles of different communities at middle-to-late in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, especially for Hakka’s women in Guangxi, the women in the southern of Yangtze River and the nobiliary women who integrated into the harem. At first, the research indicated the influence of physically and mentally and variations in status on the women in the southern shore of Yangtze River who participated in the labor work and obeyed the law of “free the feet” after Hong Xiuchan established the capital in Tianjing in1853. And then, elaborated Hakka’s women got the chances to fight and participate in government, and furthermore they had the freedom of social life. The aforementioned further indicate that Hong Xiuchan was autocratic and harsh to the harem and reserved kings in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom who lived in luxury and sensuality resulted in nobiliary women lost their personality and dignity. However, the ministers’ wives bore more social pressure. The third part was the comparison status of women in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with British women. This part was mainly aimed to present the women status of development and the difference between Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Britain in 19 century. At first, the research introduced the development and background of the women’s movement, and thinking bases of women’s movement in Britain. Then, it was a comparison of family legal status, and analyzed the similarities and differences in marriage, the property right and wardship between the women in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Britain. At last, it was a comparison of social status, and discussed on the processes and differences of education rights, working rights, wages, political participation rights and voting rights between the women in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Britain.

碩士
國立中央大學
歷史研究所碩士在職專班
96
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, leading by Hong Xiuquan and lasting for fourteen years with an impact on eighteen provinces, weakened Qing Dynasty drastically. Among many leading figures of the Taiping, Shi Dakai was unique and outstanding. His short life was closely related with the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The subject of this study is Shi Dakai and I will divide his life into four parts according to important events of his life.The first part, Shi Dakai and the rising of TaipingHeavenly Kingdom, is to analyze Shi Dakai’s family background, his participation in God-worshipping Party and his climb of official ladder in the Taiping’s officialdom. The second part, Shi Dakai in the first stage of Taiping Movement, will study Shi’s military strategies, his political ability and his achievements before the establishment of the Taiping’s capital at Nanking. The third part, the Incident of Tianjing and Shi Dakai’s departure, will explore Shi’s role in the Tianjing’s Incident and the reason of his departure. The forth part, Shi Dakai’s development after his departure, will discuss She’s fighting in Zhejiang and Fujian until his failure in Dadu River. I will also examine his military strategies and tactics at this period and the influence of his fighting on the final stage of Taiping movement.

Text in German
Zusammenfassung Die Predigten zur Parusie Jesu finden im Perikopenplan der Evangelischen Landeskirche eine geringe Aufmerksamkeit. Die Thematik beschränkt sich auf das Ende, wie auf den Anfang des Kirchenjahres, genauer gesagt auf den 2. Advent. Das Thema der Parusie Jesu ist nicht unbedingt ein Hauptthema in der Predigtarbeit. Aber die Parusie Jesu ist das Hauptziel des Glaubens der Christen. Durch diese Arbeit soll der Predigtarbeit, sowie dem Thema der Parusie Jesu mehr Beachtung geschenkt werden. In dieser Arbeit wird die DDR Sozial- und Kirchengeschichte mit den Kurzbiographien der Prediger vorgestellt. Diese sind zum Teil Hintergrundinformation für die Predigtanalysen. Die Arbeit widmet sich einer Predigtanalyse zum biblischen Hintergrund und zum historischen Hintergrund der DDR, um den Stellenwert der Parusie Jesu in den Predigten zu erforschen. Die Bewertung der Predigtpraxis und die Evaluation bilden den Abschluss der Arbeit. Zusammenfassung Die Predigten zur Parusie Jesu finden im Perikopenplan der Evangelischen Landeskirche eine geringe Aufmerksamkeit. Die Thematik beschränkt sich auf das Ende, wie auf den Anfang des Kirchenjahres, genauer gesagt auf den 2. Advent. Das Thema der Parusie Jesu ist nicht unbedingt ein Hauptthema in der Predigtarbeit. Aber die Parusie Jesu ist das Hauptziel des Glaubens der Christen. Durch diese Arbeit soll der Predigtarbeit, sowie dem Thema der Parusie Jesu mehr Beachtung geschenkt werden. In dieser Arbeit wird die DDR Sozial- und Kirchengeschichte mit den Kurzbiographien der Prediger vorgestellt. Diese sind zum Teil Hintergrundinformation für die Predigtanalysen. Die Arbeit widmet sich einer Predigtanalyse zum biblischen Hintergrund und zum historischen Hintergrund der DDR, um den Stellenwert der Parusie Jesu in den Predigten zu erforschen. Die Bewertung der Predigtpraxis und die Evaluation bilden den Abschluss der Arbeit.
Practical Theology
M. Th. (Practical Theology))

碩士
國立臺北大學
社會學系
96
We have had enough researches on Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; there are, however, few papers exploring the key of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom transferring from a group worshipping God to an armed force. At beginning of the revolt, religions played an important role. What reasons caused Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to turn to an armed force from a religious group? Under what forces were these changes made? These are the issues to be discussed in this paper. God worshipping was born in the late Qing Dynasty where the feudal society of China was to collapse and western capitalism invaded. The birth and development have strong social background and reasons. Central authorities declined day by day and local powers increased, particularly in Guangxi Province. Decline of local government and rise of tuanlian offered opportunities to god worshipping. They also concealed the un-mixable confrontations. Corruptions in government sector and predation from the people led to wide participation of poor people in preaching of Hong Xiuchuan and Feng Yunshan in Guangxi. Thanks to the massive preaching and the characteristics of God worshipping, it quickly grew in Guangxi. Owing to objective situation development, Qing Dynasty government and local tuanglians started resisting God worshipping. The resistance finally caused revolt of God worshippers, which had strong social background and deep psychological mechanism factors. At the same time, contradiction and confrontation were also found within God worshippers. The doctrine also was deviated, which eventually led to the final failure.

A presente dissertação tem por objeto de estudo o Pai Nosso, mais concretamente, a invocação inicial e os três primeiros pedidos, apresentando uma possível leitura de Mt 6,9-10. Cremo-la oportuna para o homem dos nossos dias, uma vez que o Pai Nosso é um eficaz meio catequético que permite dar a conhecer o Deus revelado em Jesus Cristo. Assim o entenderam os Padres da Igreja que viram, no Pai Nosso, um «resumo de todo o Evangelho». Com efeito, começamos por elaborar uma abordagem pragmática aos contextos em que se inscreve a obra mateana (geográfico, histórico e político, social e religioso, económico). Posto isto, atentamos no texto que lhe deu origem, no seu enquadramento literário abrangente (Evangelho de Mateus e Sermão da Montanha), próximo (esmola, oração, jejum) e nas suas intertextualidades de maior relevo. Chegados ao cerne da questão - a teologia de Mt 6,9-10 -, identificamos Aquele a quem nos dirigimos na invocação inicial: não um Senhor tirano, mas um Pai (abba). De seguida, oramos pela santificação do seu Nome, que é o mesmo que pedir que sejamos santos como Ele é santo. Posteriormente, desejamos a vinda do seu Reino, o próprio Jesus Cristo, e, por fim, pedimos que a nossa vontade se conforme com a divina.
The purpose of this dissertation is to study the Lord's Prayer, namely, the initial invocation and the first three requests, presenting a possible reading of Matthew 6,9-10. We believe it to be opportune for the man of our day, once which the Lord's Prayer is an effective catechetical instrument that enables us to make known the God revealed in Jesus Christ. Thus the Fathers of the Church understood it, who saw in the Our Father a «summary of the whole Gospel». In fact, we begin by elaborating a pragmatic approach to the contexts in which the mateana work (geographic, historical and political, social and religious, economic) is inscribed. That said, we attempt in the text that gave rise to it, in its comprehensive literary setting (Gospel of Matthew and Sermon on the Mount), near (alms, prayer, fasting) and in their intertextualities of greater importance. Arrived at the heart of the matter - the theology of Matthew 6,9-10 -, we identify the one to whom we address in the initial invocation: not a tyrant sir, but a Father (abba). Then, we pray for the sanctification of his Name, which is the same as asking us to be holy as He is holy. Subsequently, we desire the coming of his Kingdom, Jesus Christ himself, and, finally, we ask that our will be conformed to the divine.

碩士
東吳大學
歷史學系
100
To understand students’ “ways of thinking” is an important approach in current researches of history teaching. This study thus aims to understand the conception of causality of students in high schools. It specially focused on exploring how students evaluate the significances of different factors and causes that influence events or developments in history. I selected the event of “Taiping Heavenly Kingdom” as the topic of my research. Through an empirical investigation, I have collected thinking materials of 79 high school’s students. Using these answers from the questionnaire, I analyze some modes and trends of students’ viewing the long-tern causes and the short-tern causes. In general, many students couldn’t make sense of the trigger that directly caused the happening, and intended to be concerned so much with the background factors. It is reasonable to assume that this kind of thinking habit is mostly affected by the ways of textbook’s writing and teacher’s teaching.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
歷史學研究所
97
The aim of this paper is to bring to light the transformation and development of a uniquely Chinese weltanschauung, ‘tian-xia view’ (often translated as ‘all-under-heaven view’), during the Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties. The first chapter begins by defining some specialized terms to be discussed later in the paper, such as ‘tian-xia view,’ ‘tian-xia order,’ and ‘tian-xia form of government.’ The definition of ‘tia-xia view’ used in this paper is not equivalent to a ‘universal’ or ‘world’ outlook, but is instead a political philosophy based on the concept of ‘tian-xia,’ understood to be the world of men as conceived by people of the period. Adherents understood tian-xia form of government to be a political system for governing all-under-heaven; tian-xia order was thought of as the balance between pacification and disorder, the waxing and waning of power on the political stage that was all-under-heaven. This chapter then summarizes previous scholarship regarding the concept of tian-xia from China, Japan, and the West. I will argue that we should no longer limit the scope of research to the question of whether tian-xia denoted “China” or “the world,” nor should we carelessly assume that the accepted interpretation of tian-xia view during any one period is representative of the entire history of its use. It is preferable to view the meaning of the term tian-xia as shifting. In order to understand why it was employed, we should begin by reconstructing the lingual context in which the term has been used throughout the ages. The second chapter focuses on the use of the term si-fang (‘the four regions,’ East, South, West, and North) in the Shu-Jing, Shi-Jing, oracle bone scripts, and bronze inscriptions. The term was at the height of its use during the Western Zhou Dynasty, a time when tian-xia rarely appeared. Although its meaning is comparable to tian-xia, terminology associated with tian-xia should be avoided when discussing the period of the Western Zhou; ‘si-fang view’ should be used instead. The term si-fang connotes a delimiting of the inner sphere from the outer, clarifying the boundary between the king, seated in a central region, and his feudal lords, occupying the surrounding four regions of the north, south, east, and west, thus establishing a ‘si-fang system of government’ and a ‘si-fang order’. Si-fang view was not, however, limited to concepts of classification and demarcation; combined with a mature system of government, it can be considered a mature worldview. The kingdom of Zhou, having been enfeoffed by the Shang, were able to establish themselves in the western region as part of the si-fang order constructed by the Shang. There, the Zhou could bide their time until Da-Yi-Shang, the Shang capital city, could be replaced by Luo-Yi, the Zhou capital, as the center of si-fang. After the Zhou succeeded in overcoming the Shang, the feudal lords subordinate to the Zhou had no choice but to concede that the Zhou now occupied the center of si-fang, whereas they in fact dwelt in si-fang. Descriptions of the Zhou as a people from the western region are absent from the bronze inscriptions of the middle to late Western Zhou period; by gradually ceasing to portray their ancestors as westerns, a structural realignment of geography was achieved. In the third chapter, I examine the search results of electronic databases of both the received canon and archaeological materials, concluding that in writings from the Warring States period, the Qin, and the Han, the term tian-xia appears far more frequently than the term si-fang. The reason for tian-xia’s newfound popularity lies in, I believe, the political and societal transformation of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The feudal lords and kings of the Warring States period became aware of the term’s suitability for re-establishing political order from the chaos of their time; tian-xia did not connote a demarcation of the inner sphere from the outer, and could be employed to incorporate the various states into a new polity. A couplet from the Bei-Shan (Xiao-Ya) chapter of the Shi-Jing is often quoted in the writings of the pre-Qin schools of thought: “Under the wide heaven [tian-xia], all is the king''s land. Within the sea-boundaries of the land, all are the king''s servants.” This couplet, which also appears in the story of “Wen Ren Zhi Zhou,” reflects the term’s ability to help establish a new “all-under-heaven order.” During the Qin and Han, the term tian-xia was not only common at court and amongst the political class, but was familiar to every literate person, penetrating deep into the consciousness of the people and having great influence on their lives. Thus, tian-xia became the most accepted denotation for the emperor’s domain, and tian-xia view became the most influential worldview in China for two thousand years. The fourth chapter continues the discussion of how the all-encompassing nature of the term tian-xia helped to establish an all-under-heaven order during the Qin and Han. Qin-Shi-Huang and the officials of his court often used the term in carrying out the policies of imperial mandates in an effort to include the only recently pacified six eastern states within the emperor’s domain. At this stage, the meaning of tian-xia was limited to “China,” but in the engraved commemorative stelae commissioned by the Qin emperors and officials, a broader meaning was implied, i.e. “all-under-heaven” including the si-yi (four barbarian peoples). Although they were aware of the discrepancy between “all-under-heaven” and the actual extent of their territory, employing phrases like “extending north of Da-Xia” to conceal the contradiction, the Qin emperors and officials were unlikely to have felt any shame in using the term. In the beginning, the Han’s strength was far weaker than the Qin’s, leaving them with no choice but to adjust their view of foreign relations. Thus, the meaning of tian-xia became more flexible, allowing for the inclusion of Nan-Yue into the tian-xia order of China and the four barbarian peoples on the one hand, as well as the co-existence of the Han and Xiong-Nu kingdoms in tian-xia on the other. Tributary visits from the barbarians of the southwest were even seen as coming in response to the virtue of the emperor. But the connotations of the term tian-xia could not be molded and re-molded at will, and the ‘family of tian-xia’ during the Qin and Han seems to have only been used in reference to internal unity, never as justification for invading the lands of the four barbarian peoples. The early Han court accepted the independence of its feudal kingdoms. In their adoption of the term tian-xia, a polycentric tian-xia form of government was established and the feudal kingdoms were incorporated into the tian-xia order. However, a polycentric tian-xia order is, in the end, unstable; the term tian-xia erased the demarcation between the inner and the outer realms, as well as the scrupulousness of the un-egalitarian bureaucracy. The Han Dynasty tian-xia view, order, and form of government could yet be further improved. The fifth chapter discusses how the Han court reconstructed the feudal system and consolidated the power of the central government, in order to further perfect the tian-xia order and tian-xia form of government. The key measure of their strategy was to reform the ‘kingdom system,’ establishing a ‘parallel commandery system’ wherein kingdoms were demoted to the status of commanderies and the administrative institutions of the Han were able to achieve a deconcentration of power through the division of labor. By adopting the feudal system, they were able to standardize a hierarchy of position between the emperor, the feudal kings, and so on, as well as make distinctions between the kingdoms’ administrative officials and domestic officials. From this time on, the polycentric tian-xia order vanished and a tian-xia form of government in which the Han emperor occupied the center was progressively established. This improvement of the tian-xia form of government influenced the changing of the contemporary tian-xia view. Through a close comparison of the texts, we discover that certain denotative conventions of the period (using the term tian-xia to refer to the territory of the Han, or the purposeful collocation of ‘commandery’ and ‘feudal kingdom’ in terms such as ‘jun-guo’ and ‘jun zhu-hou’) did not accurately reflect reality of the early Han’s circumstances. While this kind of sophisticated naming of territory was neither consistent nor common during the early Han, by the middle of the Western Han, the parallel commandery system was in place and the term jun-guo (commanderies and kingdoms) began to be popularized. The term jun-guo was beneficial to the development of the bureaucracy in several ways. It increased the efficacy of Han court decrees in terms of their transmission and execution throughout the empire. It also clearly demarcated the territory of the Han Dynasty. Finally, it helped make clear the distinction between the central and the local regions. The conclusion in chapter six is that the inner versus the outer has always been a crucial element in Chinese politics. The term tian-xia became popularized because si-fang was not able to incorporate the outer. Because of tian-xia’s inability to delimit the inner from the outer, it must be divided into broad and narrow meanings, the narrow meaning referring to the ‘inner’ pacification of China and the broad meaning referring to the ‘outer’ subjugation of the four barbarian peoples. But the narrow and broad meanings of tian-xia go further in separating the inner from the outer. The broad meaning relies on the opposition between China and the four barbarian peoples. The narrow meaning relies on the polarity between wang-ji (the lands under direct control of the king) on the one hand and the commanderies and kingdoms on the other. The ways in which tian-xia views of the various historical periods differentiate the inner from the outer is a direction of research worth pursuing.

碩士
華梵大學
哲學系碩士班
104
Hong XiQuan and Dr. Sun Yen-Son, both of resemblance are very much, almost the replica. For Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, history researchers have considerable ambiguity to still play a role on the interpretation and similar "using today’s ideas for yesterday’s reference" (or "pre-concept of the future"） point of view, from Dr. Sun Yen-Son’s political thoughts to look at Hong XiQuan’s Taiping Heavenly Kingdom probably to obtain different arguments, these are important motivation for this study anxious to explore. The research methods of this study, namely, literature research, qualitative analysis and descriptive study, I investigated Dr. Sun Yen-Son’s political thought with profound and long standing and well established, are the essence of nationalism, populism, and principle of people's livelihood; Hong Xi Quan establishing process of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which lasted for 14 years (1851-1864) to discuss the purpose of the revolution, revolutionary method, the revolutionary cause of the failure; Dr. Sun Yen-Son’s political ideology from the point of view of nationalism, populism, and principle of people's livelihood, respectively. In this study, there are still a number of shortcomings, such asother information, space and funding insufficient limitations.Finally, the follow-up researchers recommended that if there more ample time, resources and other conditions can be adoptedor collected different arguments or observation from more scholars and experts at home and abroad in order to derive a more sophisticated, in-depth arguments, and be compared with each other as the evidence.

Text in French
This thesis studies the relations between Christians and Muslim in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the light of the Sermon on the Mount. Both communities, each from its own side, claim to have received the divine message to proclaim to all humanity. In the eastern DRC, as elsewhere, the encounter between these two communities often causes tension and conflict, leading to violence. These facts were established by analyzing the general context in the East since the end of the 19th century until today. The war at the end of the 19th century, which saw anti-slavery groups pitted against Arabs and their Islamic allies, is seen as one of the main original causes of the conflict. The memories of that war revive the spirit of the crusades in the Middle Ages. This has affected the relationship between the two communities. Fear of the other drives the defence mechanism that produces violence. The strategy to restore peace is an irenic approach based on the identity of the disciples as peace builders, true descendants of Abraham, agents of surpassing justice, and participants in the new humanity. Concretely, the disciples of Jesus should work for a mission that has the following simultaneous features: making peace with a view to establishing the reign of God; practising Abrahamic hospitality by opening oneself even to one‟s enemies; building the home of justice that takes into account the values of Shari‟ah and Christian virtues to create a pluralistic world; taking upon itself the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue. The mission of peace is the main task. It is an attempt to restore broken relations and an effort at reconciliation. It establishes peace as equally important as other dimensions of mission, but it does not constitute the totality of mission. It is one dimension of the salvation of humanity and of the re-establishment of the reign of God on earth. Peace is about more than the cessation of hostilities or the absence of war; it refers to shalom, or total peace. This is the gospel of peace announced by Jesus Christ.
Cette thèse étudie les relations de chrétiens et musulmans à l‟Est de la RDC à la lumière du Sermon sur la montagne. Tous, chacun de son côté, se réclament avoir reçu le message divin pour annoncer à tous les hommes. A l‟Est de la RDC comme ailleurs, la rencontre de ces deux communautés occasionne souvent de tensions et conflits, source de violence. Ces faits ont été établis par l‟analyse du contexte général de l‟Est depuis la fin du XIXe siècle jusqu'à nos jours. La guerre qui a opposé vers la fin du XIXe siècle les troupes de la société anti-esclavagistes contre les arabes et leurs alliés islamisés, est perçue comme l‟une des principales causes lointaines du conflit. Ainsi, les souvenirs de cette guerre font raviver l‟esprit de la guerre des croisades du Moyen-âge. Ceci a affecté les relations de ces deux communautés. La peur de l‟autre pousse à développer le mécanisme de défense qui a instauré le règne de la violence. La stratégie pour restaurer la paix est celle d‟une approche irénique basée sur l‟identité des disciples comme des artisans de paix, des fils authentiques d‟Abraham, des agents de l‟excellente justice, et des participants à l‟humanité nouvelle. Concrètement, les disciples de Jésus doivent oeuvrer pour une mission à la fois shalomatique en vue d‟instaurer le règne de Dieu ; dans l‟esprit d‟hospitalité abrahamique en s‟ouvrant même à ses ennemis ; bâtissant la maison de justice qui prend en compte les valeurs de la Shari‟a et des vertus chrétiennes pour un monde pluraliste ; et assumant la promotion interculturelle par le dialogue interreligieux. La mission de paix est la tâche principale. Elle est un essai de restauration de relations brisées et un effort de réconciliation. Elle englobe aussi bien la paix que d‟autres dimensions. Mais, elle ne constitue pas tout le contenu de la mission. Elle est une composante du salut de l‟homme et du rétablissement du Royaume des Cieux au monde. Ainsi, la paix envisage plus que la cessation d‟hostilités ou absence de guerres. Ici, elle désigne le shalom ou la paix totale. C‟est l‟Evangile de paix annoncé par Jésus.
Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
D.Th. (Missiology)

碩士
國立中興大學
歷史學系所
107
History education is the most important basis to develop students'' historical thinking skills. As for the performance of history education, a history textbook motivates students to acquire broad knowledge in history. A high-quality history textbook is a key factor to assist teachers and students. Through history textbooks, history teachers expect to introduce and pass on history knowledge and concepts and to inspire students the nature of history. The textbook edition and publication may spark students'' interest in history. Hence one can see that history education, history teaching, and history textbooks are related. The research essence of this thesis is as following: to examine the impact of history education and history teaching on students; the importance of historical thinking to students; the textbook presentation of the Chinese history-"The First Opium War" and " Taiping Heavenly Kingdom "and whether the textbook presentation can contribute to the student''s historical understanding.

博士
國立東華大學
中國語文學系
103
This study focuses on the unique developmental process of novels with themes of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the 20th century. For the investigation on themes, this study attaches importance to two major dimensions – paying attention to external development of literature and clarifying features of novels. Therefore, this paper investigates the background of this rise of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and how the whole story of rise and fall of Taiping inspired writers and the author’s writing in Introduction as the basis for the in-depth investigations in the subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 reviews the results of various studies on Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the political circles and academia in Mainland China and Taiwan from the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China to the late 20th century, in order to understand the overall developmental direction of studies on Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the 20th century. Chapter 3 discusses the causes of rise and fall of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the general status of subsequent transformations. This chapter aims to summarize the features of novels with the themes of Taiping Heavenly kingdom under the transformation of a century. In addition to clearly outlining the process of how the novels with the themes of Hung and Yang changed their objective of creation from adhering to political purposes to pure artistic creation, this chapter also discusses how such themes were still popular after a century and identifies the major chances revealed in creation content and forms. Chapter 4 probes into the creation themes to which writers in the last century attached the highest importance, in order understand how writers developed the frameworks of their own exciting plot changes between historical facts and fictions. Chapters 5 and 6 select several characters jointly favored by writers of all ages from the novels with the themes of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Based on the comparison and analysis on literature and history, these chapters explore the transformation of how novelists switched from history to literature to create the features of characters that are basically not contrary to historical facts and can reflect writers’ creation awareness. The last chapter sums up the said chapters to generalize the creation features derived from the end of century based on the comparison between literature and history in novels with the themes of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This chapter summarizes the statements of various chapters. It is hoped that, the results of this study may further open the door of literary studies on the novels with the themes of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom based on the results of the existing studies in the field of historical studies.