Department of Theology and Religion
All items relating to the Department can be found under Theology and Religion*. They are also listed under their sub-discipline.
The Department is home to programmes in Theology and Religion and two research centres, the Centre for Theology and Public Issues, and the Centre for the Study of Islam and Muslim Cultures.
The Department has a strong record of research. It was the highest ranked department in Theology and Religious Studies in New Zealand, and the third highest across departments in all disciplines, in the most recent assessment of research quality in New Zealand.
Collections in Department of Theology and Religion
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Biblical Studies [14]
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Religious Studies [11]
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Theology and Religion* [140]
Recent Deposits
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Crucifixion, State Terror, and Sexual Abuse: Text and Context
A key principle in the work of Latin American liberation theologians has been a willingness to take their Latin American social context seriously as an aid for understanding biblical texts. This paper is intended to ... -
Hearing Galatians Today in Light of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Theology of Freedom
In the epistle to the Galatians Paul tells the church, “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another” ... -
Galileo and the Conflict between Religion and Science
For more than 30 years, historians have rejected what they call the ‘warfare thesis’ – the idea that there is an inevitable conflict between religion and science – insisting that scientists and believers can live in harmony. ... -
The Three Trials of Khruba Sriwichai
Scholars of contemporary Thailand refer to the Sangha reforms promulgated by the Cakri monarchs in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as historical events that instantly created a new regime of Buddhism. ... -
Lead Us Not into Temptation: Christian Responses to Consumerism
Consumerism represents a way of structuring society and the economy that encourages and facilitates the ever-expanding acquisition of commodities. Consumption is now the principle aspiration and source of individual identity ... -
The Language and Theology of the Samoan Methodist Hymnbook: Circumscribing Hymnal Translation from a Postcolonial Perspective
This thesis offers a critical analysis of the biased and un-balanced theology in the lyrical-literary work that is the Samoan Methodist Hymn Book, and of the impact this biased theology has on the Christian community and ... -
The Son as God: the Theological Salience of Divine Christology in the Epistle to the Hebrews
This thesis investigates the divinity of the Son in the Epistle to Hebrews. In spite of a burgeoning interest in divine Christology in NT studies, the Son’s divinity in Hebrews has received little specific attention, being ... -
Prophet or Magician? : the debate surrounding Joseph Smith Jr.
Many authors have seen elements of Joseph Smith Jr.'s life, and early Mormonism in general to be of a magical nature. D. Michael Quinn, John L. Brooke and Lance Owens in particular have written much on the subject. There ... -
Seeing is Believing: Revelation, Emotion, and Film Images
One of the most theologically interesting aspects of cinema is its apparent capacity to mediate revelation. While the primary agent of revelation is God, without whom revelation cannot happen, certain films seem to elicit ... -
Love Does Not Seek Its Own: Augustine, Economic Division, and the Formation of a Common Life
This thesis arises out of contemporary concerns regarding the nature and formation of the church amidst economic inequality. What does it mean to be the church amidst an economically divided society? And how does God seek ... -
Anglicanism and the Ephesians 4 Gifts: Towards a Leadership Model that Disciples and Equips the Church for Mission
This research project has two aims; to look for evidence that Hirsch’s proposition that the five ministry gifts of Eph 4:11, the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher are needed to transition an institutional ... -
The Supreme Σημεῖον of Jesus' Death-and-Resurrection in the Fourth Gospel
This thesis argues that Jesus’ death-and-resurrection is the supreme σημεῖον in the Fourth Gospel (FG). By focusing on the present text of the Gospel, without regard to questions of tradition and redaction, the above ... -
Your Strength in Our Hearts: New Zealand Churchgoers in Midlife
Midlife is a period marked by transitions. Sudden or gradual changes in individuals’ circumstances and responsibilities can prove to be catalysts for personal growth and development. Re-evaluation of priorities and changes ... -
Revisiting the Babylonian Exile in Jeremiah 29: 1 -14: A Samoan La-tō Reading using an Oceanic Hermeneutic
This project explores the feasibility of a Samoan approach to the Judahites’ ‘exile,’ with particular reference to Jeremiah 29:1-14. The word ‘exile’ in the Hebrew Bible can imply discipline as an act of love, life, and ... -
Archaeology and the Itinerant Jesus: a historical inquiry into the Extent of Jesus' itinerancy in the north
There is a general consensus among New Testament scholars that the historical Jesus was itinerant. Mark claims that Jesus travelled among the towns and villages of Galilee, preached in their synagogues, attracted the ... -
A Christian reading of Psalm 119: an exploration of Torah as God's self-revelation using a Trinitarian hermeneutic
In this thesis I aim at a contemporary Christian reading of Psalm 119 which is in continuity with the New Testament and the Fathers, that is, a Trinitarian reading of an Old Testament text. I demonstrate that a Christian ... -
Fetausia'i - a servant leadership paradigm for the mission of the Methodist Church in Samoa
Christian churches in Samoa today face public criticism regarding the autocratic style of leadership they have embraced and encouraged, which goes hand in hand with their lack of attention for people below the poverty line. ... -
Blessings and Woes in Luke: Intertextual Echoes of Antithetical Covenant Blessings and Curses in Luke's Gospel with Particular Reference to 6:20b-26
Luke contrasts his Beatitudes with a corresponding series of Woes creating an antithesis between the eschatological fate of the blessed and those in woe. This antithesis displays similarities to the covenant blessings and ... -
A Christian Life: Living Across the Lines. A Grounded Theory Study of Understandings of the Atonement Among Evangelical Christians
Aim: To explore evangelical Christians’ understanding of the atonement and establish whether there is a relationship between different ideas of the atonement and wellbeing in the lives of participants. Methods: Christians ...