Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Contributions in evangelical thought'

This thesis is a study of the life and thought of the Very Reverend Or Isaac Milner (1750- 1820) and his contribution to the Evangelical Revival in England. Milner is not unknown to students of Evangelical history, but his figure is a shadowy one. This work describes his life, considers the ways in which he contributed to the Evangelical Revival, particularly within the Church of England, and assesses his thought and influence. Chapter One analyzes Milner's relationship to the Clapham Sect. He was regarded as one of the advisers to 'the Saints' and the nature of his influence is evaluated. Chapter Two centres on Milner as a scholar, College President and Vice-Chancellor in Cambridge University. An account of Milner's commitment to learning is important to a movement later accused of anti-intellectualism. Chapter Three examines Milner's position as the Dean of Carlisle Cathedral. Milner held this office for twenty years before another Evangelical succeeded to a like position in the Anglican hierarchy, and his leadership in this capacity is assessed. Chapter Four is a study of Milner's primary work, The History of the Church of Christ. Co-authored with Joseph Milner, the work made a notable contribution to ecclesiastical historiographyand remains an important source for Evangelical history. Of special interest is Milner's detailed study of Martin Luther. Chapter Five discusses Milner's contributions to nineteenth-century theological debate concerning the sacrament of baptism and the British and Foreign Bible Society. These controversies influenced the development of Evangelical theology and mission, and are important to an overview of the period. One scholar of Evangelical history, Charles Smyth, asserted that biography presents a primary medium by which to study the history of the Evangelical Revival. This biographical study of Milner is a further contribution toward the picture of the Evangelical movement that has emerged from the pages of history since Smyth's statement over forty years ago. Milner's engagement with the social, ecclesiastical, intellectual and theological spheres of his time allows for the study of a unique cross-section of Evangelical concerns and involvements that helped shape nineteenth-century Britain.

Dual religious belonging is a phenomenon of individuals who identify themselves as followers of more than one religious tradition. People of faiths may find themselves in different degrees of dual or multi-religious conditions due to growing up in inter-religious marriages of their parents, exposure to multi-religious traditions or inter-religious encounters. The thesis of this study is to argue for the legitimacy of “Dual Religious Belonging” for Christians coming from Asian religious backgrounds through an assessment of the threefold theology of religions. It concludes that “Universal Access Exclusivism” can be the best model for sustaining dual religious belonging from an Evangelical perspective. The study seeks to answer the following primary research questions: 1) Theologically, can Evangelical Christians belong to more than one religious tradition? What are the arguments forwarded for dual religious belonging and how do Christians develop a theological assessment of such phenomena, particularly for Christians who hold on to the finality of Jesus Christ for salvation? 2) Within the threefold model of theology of religions, which theology can best sustain dual religious belonging for Evangelical Christians? The study offers a comparative examination of the pluralist theology of Paul Knitter, the inclusivist theology of Raimon Panikkar and the exclusivist theology of Harold Netland. The secondary research question is what are some contributions of dual religious belonging theology toward an Evangelical contextual missiology? Specifically, some contributions toward “insider movements” debates and Christian discipleship for those coming from different faith traditions will be considered. The study seeks to, first, offer a critique against pluralist and inclusivist theologies for multiple and double religious belonging, and second, forward a proposal for dual religious belonging theology for followers of Jesus Christ coming from mixed religious backgrounds from an Evangelical perspective.

The purpose of the thesis is to situate John Locke's political ideas in the context of the debate of the late seventeenth-century. In recent scholarship, it is argued that Locke held only a marginal position in the debate. However, this view is improper; there were rich intellectual exchanges between Locke and his contemporaries. They shared strong concern with modes of communication and those of moral cultivation, and a set of concepts in terms of which these issues were discussed. The thesis examines similarities and dissimilarities between Locke's ideas and those of four of his contemporaries: Edward Stillingfleet, Algernon Sidney, Samuel Pufendorf, and William Temple. Through this analysis the thesis shows both the significance and the limit of Locke's liberal ideas in the late seventeenth-century.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The problem explored in this study concerns authenticity, and can be formulated as the question: 'How does one become oneself? In order to answer this query, related issues must be addressed, for example: the nature of consciousness/ self-awareness; the individual's relationship to society; the meaning of existence, and so forth. The reply's of three thinkers, Kierkegaard, Sartre and Jung, will be discussed in this investigation. They have been selected for several reasons: Each of their respective theories addresses issues that are generally pertinent in contemporary society, such as: the alienation and dissociation of individuals from each other and themselves through mass-mindedness and the impersonal nature of state and religious institutions; the anxiety that many experience due to, firstly, a lack of confidence in the abovementioned institutions and, secondly, a loss of trust in existing (political, religious, moral, social) life-strategies, because these often fail to give a convincing sense of meaning and purpose to life. Each of the three thinkers places the 'self at the center of their philosophy, and addresses many similar themes which share between them a family resemblance that admits of comparison. The theories are presented in an order that · allows for a dialectical approach to the problem of self: Kierkegaard's fundamentally Christian theory is presented as thesis, and Sartre's atheistic position as anti-thesis. Jung's theory of the psyche is presented as synthesis, because it is antimetaphysical, but nevertheless claims to prove empirically that a convincing religious/ spiritual experience is the key ingredient for authenticity. The outcome of the enquiry will show that the three thinkers point from different directions towards the same basic conceptualization of the 'self: The self is both a project and a goal or, to put it differently, a journey and a destination, the goal/destination being the synthesis of the various disparate and conflicting elements that influence or make up the personality. The study as a whole echoes the three individual approaches in describing the condition of modem man as a malady or sickness, which is the lack of authenticity, of which the symptoms are falsehood, anxiety, alienation, crippled relationships, lack of responsibility and adaptibility, and perhaps, on a larger scale, issues such as social/ political injustice and conflict. The cure for this malady is an enhancement of consciousness/ awareness that is known as 'the self. The self is seen as a 'becoming' and a choice, a dynamic synthesis, something which is not given and cannot be taken for granted, but must be actively striven for. The study outlines and explores the nature and value of such a project towards the self.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie beskou die probleem van outentisiteit, wat as die vraag, 'Hoe word ek myself?', gestel kan word. Om hierdie vraag te beantwoord, moet verdere kwessies, soos byvoorbeeld die aard van (self)bewussyn, die verhouding waarin die indivudu tot die samelewing staan, en die betekenis van 'bestaan' ( eksistensie ), ook aangespreek word. Die voorstelle van drie denkers, Kierkegaard, Sartre and Jung, word bespreek in hierdie tesis. Die drie is vir verskeie redes uitgesoek: Elkeen van hulle spreek pertinente kwessies rondom die modeme samelewing aan, byvoorbeeld: individue se vervreemding en verwydering van hulself en ander weens die massa-mentaliteit en onpersoonlike aard van staats- en godsdienstige instellings; die angs en spanning wat baie ervaar as gevolg van 'n gebrek aan vertroue in bogenoemde instellings, asook 'n gebrekkige geloof in bestaande (politiese, godsdienstige, more le, so si ale) lewensstrategiee wat nie meer daarin slaag om sin of rede aan die lewe te gee nie. Elkeen van die drie denkers plaas die 'self sentraal tot hulle filosofie, en spreek temas aan wat onderling familie-ooreenkomste vertoon, en daarom onderlinge vergelyking toelaat. Die teoriee word aangebied in 'n volgorde wat 'n dialekti~se aanslag tot die probleem moontlik maak: Kierkegaard se Christelike teorie word as tese aangebied, en Sartre se ateistiese posisie as anti-tese. Jung se teorie van die psige word as sintese voorgehou, want, alhoewel dit geen metafisiese aansprake maak nie, beskou dit 'n oortuigende religieuse/ geestelike ervaring as die hoofbestandeel vir outentisiteit. Die gevolgtrekking van die ondersoek sal wys dat die drie denkers vanuit verskillende rigtings na dieselfde konsepsie van die 'self wys: Die self is sowel 'n projek as 'n doel, of, anders gestel, 'n reis en 'n bestemming. Die doel/ bestemming is 'n sintese van die verskillende, onderling botsend~ elemente waaruit die self bestaan en waardeur dit beinvloed word. Die studie in geheel volg die voorbeeld van die drie denkers deur die modeme mens se 'toestand' as 'n soort siekte te beskryf. Die simptome van hierdie siekte, of gebrek aan outentisiteit, is valsheid, angs, vervreemding, gebrekkige verhoudings, die afwesigheid van persoonlike verantwoordelikheid en aanpasbaarheid, en ook miskien kwessies soos sosiale en politiese onreg en konflik. Die remedie vir so 'n siekte is die 'self: 'n verheldering en intensifisering van bewussyn, wat gesien kan word as 'n 'wording' en 'n keuse, 'n dinamiese sintese, iets wat nie as voor-die-hand-liggend beskou kan word nie, maar wat aktief nagestreef moet word. Hierdie studie ondersoek die aard en waarde van so 'n projek gerig op die self

This dissertation argues that transatlantic abolitionists used the Bible to condemn American slavery as a national sin that would be punished by God. In a chronological series of thematic chapters, it demonstrates how abolitionists developed a sustained critique of American slavery at its various developing stages from the American Revolution to the Civil War. In its analysis of abolitionist anti-slavery arguments, “The Bible Against Slavery” focuses on sources that abolitionists generated. In their books, sermons, and addresses they arraigned the oppressive aspects of American slavery. This study shows how American and British abolitionists applied biblical precepts to define the maltreatment of African Americans as sins not only against the enslaved, but also against God. The issues abolitionists exposed to biblical scrutiny, and that are analyzed in this dissertation, correlate with recent scholarly treatments of American slavery. American slavery evolved in the period bracketed by the American Revolution and the Civil War. From 1790 to 1808 American slavery transitioned from reliance on the international slave trade to a domestic market. Abolitionists’ anti-slavery arguments likewise transitioned from focusing on the maltreatment of the immigrant, widow and orphan, to a focus on the proliferation of the sexual exploitation of women and the destruction of African American families. Abolitionists challenged every evolutionary step of American slavery. They argued that slavery was responsible for the destruction of American cities and the split of the British Empire during the crisis of the Revolution. They also denounced the constitutional compromises that protected slavery for 78 years, they challenged its spread westward, decried its dehumanization and sexual exploitation of African Americans, and its destruction of African American families. They galvanized a generation of women anti-slavery activists that launched the feminist movement. Abolitionists’ prediction, meanwhile, that divine retribution would come remained constant. Abolitionists produced such a prodigious body of biblical anti-slavery literature that by the Civil War, their arguments were echoed among northern pastors and even President Abraham Lincoln.

Die polnische Kultur der Renaissance auf 140 Seiten zu erfassen, erscheint als mutiges Unterfangen. Danilo Facca und Valentina Lepri, die in der Philosophiegeschichte beheimateten Herausgeber des Sammelbandes Polish culture in the Renaissance, sind sich dessen bewusst und betonen in der Einleitung denn auch zügig, keinen erschöpfenden Überblick über die Thematik zu beanspruchen (S. 11). Vielmehr gehen die sieben im Untertitel angekündigten „Studies in the arts, humanism and political thought“ auf Konferenzbeiträge zurück, die 2013 auf der Jahrestagung der „Renaissance Society of America“ gehalten wurden. Erstmals in der knapp 60jährigen Geschichte dieser Jahrestagung wurde die polnische Renaissance dabei in eigenen Panels behandelt. Mit der Veröffentlichung ihrer Beiträge verfolgen die Autoren nun das aufklärerisch anmutende Ziel, den in der Renaissance des westlichen Europa sachkundigen Lesern eine grundlegende Orientierung in der Geisteswelt Polens zwischen dem 15. und 17. Jahrhundert zu verschaffen und die klassische italozentrische Perspektive auf die Epoche der Renaissance auf diese Weise zu korrigieren (S. 12).

To the author's knowledge, this is the first systematic study of the concept of enmity in the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. Examining this important category does not only elucidate the concept itself, but also provides an opportunity to reconnect fragments of Hobbes's thought that are increasingly being treated as disparate subjects. It is suggested that the notion of enmity can shed further light on related aspects of his political philosophy, including human competitiveness, the roles of fear and trust, the evil of violent death, the status of rebels, and his theory of international relations. In addition, the subject invites a rethinking of Hobbes's place in the history of political thought. It is argued that he was among the first to make enmity a central subject of political philosophy. This seems to be related to Hobbes's break with the traditional notion of natural sociability, as a consequence of which he describes the natural condition of mankind as a war of all against all. Although Hobbes depicts human beings as natural enemies, he holds that enmity does not exclude the possibility of reconciliation; individuals can supposedly overcome their hostility through subjection to a sovereign. These views give rise to a dynamic distinction between public and private enmity, according to which outright hostility can be transformed into private rivalry if human beings renounce their natural right of war. Conversely, subjects become public enemies if they rebel against the sovereign. Hobbes's views on natural enmity and reconciliation also have important implications for his theory of international relations. This thesis particularly highlights the possibility that states can be decomposed and reassembled after a foreign invasion, which precludes wars of annihilation.

This thesis contributes to the literature on the history of the transition from colonial to post-colonial in the Pacific. It explores the contribution of an individual to this transition, Rev. Dr. Alan Richard Tippett, as a focus for illuminating the struggles in the transitions and the development of post-colonial theory for mission. Alan Richard Tippet sailed to Fiji as an ordained Methodist missionary in 1941. He was a product of a Methodist parsonage and heir to the evangelical and revival tendencies of the Cornish Methodism of his family. He began his missionary career steeped in the colonial visions of the mission enterprise fostered by the Board of Missions of his church. He was eager to study anthropology but was given no chance to do so before he left Australia. He pursued his study of anthropology and history in Fiji and began to question the paternalism of colonial theory. Early in his time in Fiji he made the decision to join with those who sought change and the death of colonial mission. In his work as a circuit minister, theological educator, writer and administrator he worked to this end. He developed his talent for writing and research, encouraging the Fijian church to take pride in its past achievements. He became alienated from the administrators of the Australasian Methodist Board of Missions and could find no place in the Australian church. In 1961 he left Fiji and began a course of study at the newly formed Institute of Church Growth in Eugene, Oregon. This led him into the orbit of Donald McGavran and the newly emerging church growth theory of Christian mission. Although his desire was to enhance the study of post-colonial mission in Australia he could not find a position to support him even after he gained a PhD in anthropology from the University of Oregon. After research in the Solomon Islands he returned to the USA to assist Donald McGavran in the formation of the now famous School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena. While at Fuller he exercised considerable influence in the development of missiological theory and especially the application of anthropological studies in post-colonial mission. Although he contributed to both the ecumenical and evangelical debates on mission, he found himself caught up in the bitter debates of the 1960s and 1970s between them and, despite all efforts to maintain links, lost contact with the ecumenical wing. Retiring to Australia in 1977 he found that his world reputation was not recognised in his native land. He continued his work apace, although he was deeply saddened by the ignorance he found in Australia and by his continued rejection. He finally donated his library to St. Mark???s National Theological Centre. He died in 1988 in Canberra.

Pentecostalism, which developed its essential character during the classical period of 1901-1916, has many significant contributions to make to modern theology. Often viewed as a type of fundamentalism, it is actually a theological tradition in its own right that deserves consideration along with the other two major streams of protestantism, conservative evangelicalism and more liberal ecumenical-mainline thought. Although it emphasizes the experience of the Holy Spirit, pentecostalism is highly Christocentric as is evidenced by its foundational symbol of faith, the fourfold gospel of Jesus as savior, healer, baptizer, and coming king. This work examines how the pentecostal fourfold gospel, as a functional, from below Spirit Christology, anticipates and intersects with trends in twentieth century ecumenical theological thought. The result of the study is the articulation of a fuller, more holistic understanding of the work of Christ in salvation in the world today.
Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics
M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

This dissertation contributes to the study of American Christianity by tracing the apocalyptic thought of New England evangelical Calvinism from Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) to Lyman Beecher (1775-1863). Covering the period of the First Great Awakening in the eighteenth century to the dawn of the Second Great Awakening in the nineteenth century, the study identifies Edwards as the progenitor of a distinctive tradition of Calvinist apocalyptic thought. Edwardsean historical-redemptive apocalypticism highlights the “work of redemption” as the unfolding spiritual drama of conversion enacted in various historical stages. Its three-fold emphasis is on revivalism, the afflictive nature of church history, and the cosmic dimensions of an overarching redemptive narrative culminating in Christ’s Second Coming. Edwards’s immediate disciples, Joseph Bellamy (1719-1790) and Samuel Hopkins (1721-1803), reinterpreted their mentor’s insights to create an Edwardsean school of New England “New Divinity” thought. Beneath the veneer of New Divinity theology was a strong undercurrent of Edwardsean apocalypticism, which the second generation Edwardseans adapted to reflect the young nation’s call to social action. The revivals of the Second Great Awakening were driven in large part by the millennial spirit of this New Divinity apocalyptic tradition. Due to rapid societal changes at the turn of the century, Edwardseans of the third generation led the efforts in institutionalizing religious and moral reform activities. Along with this Protestant “kingdom building” came a shift in Edwardsean eschatological priorities. It moved away from the central Edwardsean motif of conversion/redemption to moralism—from a theology centered upon otherworldly apocalypticism toward a greater focus on societal reform. This transition from subsuming the grand narrative of redemption under the overall rubric of God’s sovereignty to one that viewed the millennium in relation to humanistic moral reform was led by Lyman Beecher (1775-1863), who serves as the representative of the “millennial turn” in Edwardsean apocalypticism during the Second Great Awakening. An overview of Edwardsean apocalyptic thought between the two Great Awakenings provides historians an important window to connect and interpret the development of New England Calvinist eschatology that few have explored in depth. These ideas continue to enlighten our understanding of modern-day iterations of evangelical eschatology.

This dissertation examines the theological diversity that is currently developing within North American evangelicalism due to the growing influence of postmodernism and the resulting postconservative shift in evangelical thought. Chapter 1 begins with an initial assessment of the historical background and intellectual landscape behind the postmodern setting as well as the reasons why many evangelicals, such as Stanley J. Grenz and Kevin J. Vanhoozer, have chosen to adopt postconservative approaches to theological method. Chapter 2 then moves to a critical analysis of these two theologians by first treating the work of Stanley Grenz. This segment evaluates his proposals regarding theological method by outlining the primary ideas and factors that lead to his version of a postmodern evangelical theology. Chapter 3 subsequently offers a survey of the contrasting ideas of Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Here again, the tracing of Vanhoozer's distinct rendition of postconservatism is done by examining the major factors that are prominent within his work. Chapter 4 then provides evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of Grenz's and Vanhoozer's thought as well as points of comparison and contrast between them. In the end, it is argued that while both thinkers share several mutual criticisms of conservative evangelicalism, Grenz's expression of postconservatism is noticeably different from Vanhoozer's. Specifically, it is shown that Grenz clearly advocates a kind of postmodern postconservatism, which entails modifications in theological method as well certain doctrinal commitments intrinsic to historic evangelicalism. Juxtaposed to Grenz, it also is argued that Vanhoozer provides a more confessional model of postconservatism because his recommendations for a new methodology still remain loyal to certain theological commitments that Grenz would deem as non-essential to the evangelical theology. Chapter 5 finally assesses the potential future effects that certain kinds of postconservative thought could have in evangelical circles. Likewise, several key elements regarding theological method that still require further attention in light of the development of postconservatism are also highlighted and discussed.
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This dissertation explores the hermeneutical impasses which have resulted from the recent debates about the theological interpretation of Scripture between revisionist theologian David Tracy and postliberal theologian Hans Frei and suggests that locating the role of Scripture in the economy of redemption would ease many of these methodological tensions. The works of Evangelical theologian Kevin Vanhoozer and Ressourcement theologian Henri de Lubac, it is argued, provide helpful resources for these discussions as these theologians explicitly seek to explain the role of Scripture in mediating the relationship between Christ and the Church. The dissertation suggests that examining the role of Scripture in the context of the economy does provide helpful insights for hermeneutical method as it shows the intrinsic unity between the literal reading of Scripture and Scripture's spiritual interpretation, as well as the intrinsic unity between Scripture and Church in receiving Scriptural mediation. It is concluded that these insights ease ongoing tensions between Frei and Tracy by showing that Frei's insistence on the plain sense of Scripture is compatible with Tracy's insistence on the transformative disclosure of Christ in Scripture.
McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
Theology
PhD
Dissertation

This historical analysis investigates the contributions of John Wesley's doctrine of entire sanctification, with its attendant emphasis on Christian perfection, to the value base of American professional social work. Major questions asked were: how catalytic was this doctrine in the drive for nineteenth-century social reform, especially in reforms headed by women; how specifically did it influence the founding and direction of early social work; what happened to these Wesleyan values as social reform moved from a spiritually-grounded movement into a secularized one; and what lessons are embedded in that history for current practice? Findings confirmed Wesleyan perfectionism's significant impact on social work's ethical foundation through America's Puritan-Enlightenment-Wesleyan synthesis; through the Benevolent Empire it spawned; and through the activities of its female adherents, notably the Methodist Diaconate. Tensions between these Wesleyan ideals and the positivistic utilitarian values that displaced them in social work's drive for professionalization remain today
acase@tulane.edu

This dissertation re-examines a set of long-standing problems that arise from Aristotle’s defense of kingship in the Politics. Scholars have argued for over a century that Aristotle’s endorsement of sole rule by an individual of outstanding excellence is incompatible with his theory of distributive justice and his very conception of a political community. Previous attempts to resolve this apparent contradiction have failed to ease the deeper tensions between the idea of the polis as a community of free and equal citizens sharing in ruling and being ruled and the vision of absolute kingship in which one man rules over others who are merely ruled. I argue that the so-called “paradox of monarchy” emerges from misconceptions and insufficiently nuanced interpretations of kingship itself and of the more fundamental concepts of community, rule, authority, and citizenship. Properly understood, Aristotelian kingship is not a form of government that concentrates power in the hands of a single individual, but an arrangement in which free citizens willingly invest that individual with a position of supreme authority without themselves ceasing to share in rule. Rather than a muddled appendage tacked on to the Politics out of deference to Macedon or an uncritical adoption of Platonic utopianism, Aristotle’s defense of kingship is a piece of ideal theory that serves in part to undermine the pretensions of actual or would-be monarchs, whether warrior- or philosopher-kings.
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German text
Die ökumenische Bewegung weltweit steht nicht erst seit kurzem vor großen Herausforderungen, nicht nur an der Basis. Kirchenpolitische Interessen, kulturelle Barrieren und in der Tat theologische Differenzen fragen nach dem Kern christlicher Einheit. Vor dieser Aufgabe steht auch und insbesondere die evangelikale Bewegung mit ihrer spezifischen Prägung und Fragestellung im Kontext der weltweiten Christenheit. Innerhalb dieser global betrachtet expandierenden Bewegung begegnet man dem ökumenischen Anliegen mit geteilter Aufmerksamkeit, offener Kritik und völliger Abstinenz. Mithilfe der Darstellung der Unionsbemühungen des Reformators Martin Bucer, insbesondere seiner theologischen Motive, wird ein hoffentlich weiterführender Gesprächsbeitrag für die Ökumene-Debatte im modernen Evangelikalismus geliefert.
World-wide ecumenicism has to challenge big issues for a long time now. Church-political interests, cultural frontiers and, of course, theological differences search for the center of christian unity. Especially evangelicalism as a part of world-wide christianity has to face this challenge with its specific character. Within this expanding movement, a variety of viewpoints exist with regard to ecumenicism: divided attention, open criticism and neglection. Martin Bucer as ecumenical pioneer in the period of reformation elaborates a fresh approach towards the evangelical ecumenicism-debate. His theological motives build the center of this dissertation.
Philosophy & Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Systematic Theology)