The Animalistic Gullet and the Godlike Soul: Reframing Sacrifice in Midrash Leviticus Rabbah

This article proposes an analysis of two homiletic units in the Palestinian Midrash Leviticus Rabbah, which revolve around biblical chapters pertaining to sacrifices. A theme that pervades these units is that of eating as an animalistic activity that often entails moral depravity. In contrast, the act of sacrificing is constructed in these units as one in which one is willing to give up one's own nourishment, and in a sense one's own “soul,” in order to offer it to God. Many of the motifs used to vilify eating in the Midrash can be traced in moralistic Greek, Roman, and early Christian diatribes preaching for moderation in eating or for asceticism; the homilists in Leviticus Rabbah, however, utilize these popular motifs in order to present sacrifice as the spiritual contrary of eating, and thus to give the obsolete practice of sacrifice cultural cachet and compelling meanings

Romans 1:26-27 and Homosexuality: A Study in Text and Context

The subject of this thesis is Paul's statements about homosexual behaviour in Romans 1:26-27. The thesis has a two-fold focus. First, it is concerned with the interpretation of Paul's words in the light of their historical context, using the methods of traditional historical criticism. Second, it attempts to evaluate the impact of recent debates in Christian churches about the ethics of homosexual behaviour on the interpretation of this text.The differing interpretations of John Boswell and Richard Hays are treated as paradigmatic of recent debates over the text In the light of Boswell's and Hays' interpretations this thesis argues that Paul's words in Rom. 1:26-27 do a negative evaluation of all hormosexual behaviour, that Paul objected to homosexual behaviour because he believed it violated God's will for human life, that the objection was fundamentally gender-based, condemning sexual relations between persons of the same gender as "against nature." Furthermore, Paul's claim that homosexual behaviour was an expression of passions and desires is stressed, and it is argued that Paul believed, with other Jews, that homosexual behaviour was a vice characteristic of Gentile culture. The thesis begins with an introductory discussion of the interpretations of John Boswell and Richard Hays and an overview of methodological issues. Following this, Chapter One deals with the modern context in which interpretation of Rom. 1:26-27 takes place, focusing on theories about homosexuality and Christian responses. Chapter Two reviews recent work on Rom. 1:26-27 and highlights basic issues and questions. Chapter Three focuses on Paul's historical context, dealing with homosexual behaviour in the Graeco-Roman world, and Jewish and non-Jewish responses and attitudes. Chapter Four, the core of the thesis, deals in detail with Rom. 1:26-27 and presents the major arguments of the thesis. An outline of major conclusions follows, including a discussion of the relevance of the thesis for modern debates. The thesis both contributes a review of recent scholarship and attempts to advance understanding of the text by considering the relationship between historical interpretation of the text and its use in ethical debates.ThesisMaster of Arts (MA

Unperformed Rituals in an Unread Book

What is the significance of an unperformed ritual? And what is the meaning of an unread text? The intuitive answer, that unperformed rituals and unread texts have no meaning, is clearly wrong in the case of Leviticus. The rituals depicted in its text mean a great deal, because Jews, Samaritans and Christians continue to ritualize Leviticus as part of their scriptures. Leviticus’s status as the third book of scripture has remained virtually uncontested throughout the histories of these three religions, despite the fact that people do not observe many of its offering instructions or, among Christians, even read much of its text. It retains its place among the sacred scrolls and books reproduced by each religion. Therefore if the job of commentary is to explain the meaning of Leviticus, it cannot stop with the book’s words, much less their original referents. The meanings of Leviticus have been broadcast by the sounds of its words and the sight of the books and scrolls that contain it as much as by semantic interpretations of its contents, which have themselves been manifested in ritual and legal performances as well as in sermons and commentaries. Out of all this emerges the phenomenon of scripture, of which Leviticus is an original and integral part

An overlooked connection: serotonergic mediation of estrogen-related physiology and pathology

BACKGROUND: In humans, serotonin has typically been investigated as a neurotransmitter. However, serotonin also functions as a hormone across animal phyla, including those lacking an organized central nervous system. This hormonal action allows serotonin to have physiological consequences in systems outside the central nervous system. Fluctuations in estrogen levels over the lifespan and during ovarian cycles cause predictable changes in serotonin systems in female mammals. DISCUSSION: We hypothesize that some of the physiological effects attributed to estrogen may be a consequence of estrogen-related changes in serotonin efficacy and receptor distribution. Here, we integrate data from endocrinology, molecular biology, neuroscience, and epidemiology to propose that serotonin may mediate the effects of estrogen. In the central nervous system, estrogen influences pain transmission, headache, dizziness, nausea, and depression, all of which are known to be a consequence of serotonergic signaling. Outside of the central nervous system, estrogen produces changes in bone density, vascular function, and immune cell self-recognition and activation that are consistent with serotonin's effects. For breast cancer risk, our hypothesis predicts heretofore unexplained observations of the opposing effects of obesity pre- and post-menopause and the increase following treatment with hormone replacement therapy using medroxyprogesterone. SUMMARY: Serotonergic mediation of estrogen has important clinical implications and warrants further evaluation