Aaron T Lockhart

In this paper, I draw from the imagery of the Rabshakeh's challenge to Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18 to likewise warn of the danger of leaning too heavily upon an uncertain or shaky defense, here in regard to common arguments for the canon of the Christian “Old Testament.” I call into question the common assumptions made regarding the state of the Jewish canon in the first century and attempts to connect a modern biblical canon to any monolithic Jewish canon as this belies a preferential treatment of the Pharisees’ canon over various Jewish religious groups that did not survive the upheaval the end of the 2nd Temple era. I suggest that the acceptance of the canon as transmitted in Rabbinic Tradition was due in large part to the survival of the Pharisee party with little to no voice of opposition remaining and therefore was not representative of the breadth of 2nd Temple Jewish thought.

Because of the solitary voice that remained, I further argue that citing early Christian sources in regard to the canon debate must be treated with nuance, recognizing that evaluation of the Jewish canon of their time is reflective of but one school of Jewish thought extant in the first century. Thus, broad sweeping terms and generalizations regarding any sort of “1st century Jewish canon,” and leaning on the testimony of certain church fathers for this determination is leaning on an argument that is self-defeating, that is, a “leaning on the shaft that pierces the hand.”

The Hebrew word, hesed, is not one with a singular or simple definition; it is a Hebrew concept that takes a comprehensive study to extract and better comprehend its full meaning, which is undertaken in this study. To aid our understanding of this concept, I first lay the groundwork for coming near an understanding of hesed by examining it in its divine context and usage, illuminating its covenantal, relational, and enduring nature. I then contrast this with an examination of hesed as used in its secular and human context and usage, noting that a universal understanding of its divine usage is impractical for all occurrences in scripture. By examining a few disparate usages of this word in different contexts, I show the unifying aspects of the two understandings (divine and human) in order to come to a more comprehensive and inclusive understanding of hesed. In order to illustrate the concept and to come nearer to a proper understanding of this concept, I then draw on the pericope of Jacob and Esau’s reunion, showing it to be a situation in which hesed is displayed in both divine and human contexts.

An Exegetical Examination of Deuteronomy 7:16-26 in which Moses commands the people to remember God's past faithfulness, to take courage, and to destroy the idols of the land. This includes an examination of God's promises and responsibilities and of man's response and responsibilities, moving from a promised fulfillment by God, to a cooperative fulfillment, to a final imperative of the nations' requirement in fulfillment. The paper closes with synthesis, interpretation, and application.

This thesis proposes that Mark had in mind a motif of the relationship between - and the interchange and development of - Jesus' identity and authority as His identity was increasingly revealed to the disciples. This study takes into account Christology (particularly Markan) and its development in scholarship, the concept of the Messianic Secret, Markan literary structure, and the history of and varying views regarding the passage that might be considered 'turning point' in Mark's narrative. This latter is explored because I propose here that when viewed through the lens of Christ's Identity and Authority, the turning point of Mark should be placed at the Mount of Transfiguration rather than the preceding (and most commonly held) pericope of Peter's confession of faith.

Tracing a thread through Plato's realms and Forms, a renaissance of Aristotelian thought within Medieval Scholasticism, and the turn away from viewing nature through the metaphysical via the Nominalist movement of Roscelin of Compiègne and William of Ockham, I lay a groundwork for the understanding the encounter of the transcendent through the material within the Christian tradition by way of examining iconoclasm. This traced thread is for the purpose of drawing an outline of historical Christian thought regarding veneration of material objects, and from there developing a proper understanding of veneration in relation to how the immaterial is reflected in the material, particularly in Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions.