This study is comprised of four chapters and an Epilogue. Chapter 1 treats, by way of historical description, the founding of America's institutions of higher learning as defacto centers of evangelical Protestant indoctrination and ethos. Chapter 2 is a record of the rejection of evangelical Protestantism in the interest of making the colleges and universities nonsectarian. This was accomplished first by a gradual "broadening'' of the curricula. Later, the schools became altogether secularist in disposition. Chapter 3 recounts the factors leading to the changes in the institutions. Chapter 4 is an evaluation of competing truth claims in the aftermath of the demise of Protestantism and a review of the gains and losses that came with the change. Finally, the Epilogue is a case study of one institution that reversed the trend. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Systematic Theology)

This thesis examines the controversy surrounding the doctrine of atonement among transatlantic Methodist during the Victorian and Progressive Eras. Beginning in the eighteenth century, it establishes the dominant theories of the atonement present among English and American Methodists and the cultural-philosophical worldview Methodists used to support these theories. It then explores the extent to which ordinary and influential Methodists throughout the nineteenth century carried forward traditional opinions on the doctrine before examining in closer detail the controversies surrounding the doctrine at the opening of the twentieth century. It finds that from the 1750s to the 1830s transatlantic Methodists supported a range of substitutionary views of the atonement, from the satisfaction and Christus Victor theories to a vicarious atonement with penal emphases. Beginning in the 1830s and continuing through the 1870s, transatlantic Methodists embraced features of the moral government theory, with varying degrees, while retaining an emphasis on traditional substitutionary theories. Methodists during this period were indebted to an Enlightenment worldview. Between 1880 and 1914 transatlantic Methodists gradually accepted a Romantic philosophical outlook with the result that they began altering their conceptions of the atonement. Methodists during this period tended to move in three directions. Progressive Methodists jettisoned prevailing views of the atonement preferring to embrace the moral influence theory. Mediating Methodists challenged traditionally constructed theories for similar reasons but tended to support a theory in which God was viewed as a friendlier deity while retaining substitutionary conceptions of the atonement. Conservatives took a custodial approach whereby traditional conceptions of the atonement were vehemently defended. Furthermore, that transatlantic Methodists were involved in significant discussions surrounding the revision of their theology of atonement in light of modernism in the years surrounding 1900 contributed to their remaining on the periphery of the Fundamentalist-Modernist in subsequent decades.

This dissertation examines the relationship between Baptists and social reform from 1770 through 1860. Chapter one examines two explanations to the social movements of this period. Attention is given to the tension between personal piety and social activism inherent in Baptist life. Chapter two explores the most controversial social issue of the nineteenth century: slavery. By weighing in on the colonization scheme, religious instruction, and abolition. Chapter three examines one of the most significant but least known debates of the antebellum period: the effort to end Sabbath mail delivery. Baptists pressed for a legislative end to a social problem. Not all Baptists shared the conviction that Congress should interfere. The subject of chapter four is the evangelical crusade against poverty. Baptists spiritualized the effort. Fighting poverty meant encouraging conversion and promoting virtue. Chapter five presents the temperance crusade as a spiritual and political mission. Temperance tested Baptist convictions more than any other philanthropic movement. The tension between the sacred and the secular came to the fore as Baptists disagreed over the role of benevolent societies. Chapter six examines the role of piety in Baptist life. It argues that far from forcing Baptists to withdraw from society and culture, their view of personal piety drove them into society. It was forged by their understanding of and desire for religious liberty. From very early on, they came to believe that society's best hope was a Christian and a church committed to the gospel. Even when Baptists articulated the spiritual nature of the church, they did so with the understanding that a spiritual church is a blessing to society. Chapter seven considers the impetus for direct political engagement discussed by Baptists. Always rejecting party politics, Baptists knew they had a responsibility to engage the public sphere. Pastors looked for "the medium path" that embraced every topic worthy of sermonizing without degrading their ministry. Chapter eight summarizes the argument. Baptists were social reformers. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

This thesis relates the resurgent evangelical Protestantism of mid-twentieth century New Zealand to the extensive international historiography which has emerged over the last thirty years, especially through the work of such scholars as David Bebbington in Britain and others in the USA, Canada and Australia. Understanding evangelicalism as a both an historical movement and a recurring set of doctrinal commitments, the new literature has highlighted evangelicalism as a trans-denominational and international movement, sharing such features as those identified in Bebbington�s quadrilateral. Weaving together the study of numerous key individuals, churches and organisations, the thesis argues that a self-aware, cross-denominational and fairly cohesive evangelical stream developed within New Zealand Protestantism between about 1930 and 1965. The thesis demonstrates that the university Evangelical Unions and the Inter-Varsity Fellowship (NZ) - both founded following a schism with the more liberal SCM in the early 1930s - were key factors in the reconstruction of evangelical identity and confidence and in the development of vigorous and expanding evangelical movements in New Zealand�s two largest Protestant denominations. The two key pre-war church leaders who inspired those movements, Thomas Miller (a confessionalist Presbyterian) and William Orange (a devotional Anglican), worked closely with the Evangelical Unions and IVF, and the leaders of the post-war evangelical movements (such as Graham Miller) had been significantly shaped by the EUs and IVF. Mid-century New Zealand evangelicalism was theologically conservative, but also emphasised reason, moderation and restraint, and those values were constantly reinforced by such leaders as Dr. John Laird and Professor E.M. Blaiklock. The renascent New Zealand evangelical movement rejected extremism, anti-intellectualism and ecclesiastical separatism. It explicitly distanced itself from American fundamentalism. In its outlook and cultural style, mid-twentieth century New Zealand evangelicalism largely reflected the prevailing Britishness of New Zealand in that period, and was strongly influenced by the British IVF. By the early 1960s, evangelicalism had become an increasingly significant element within Protestantism in New Zealand. As the movement matured, it had also become less cohesive.

In 1908, two Canadian women published first novels that became instant best-sellers. Nellie McClung's Sowing Seeds in Danny initially outsold Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, but by 1965 McClung's book had largely disappeared from Canadian consciousness. The popularity of Anne, on the other hand, has continued to the present, and Anne has received far more academic and critical attention, especially since 1985. It is only recently that Anne of Green Gables has been criticized for its ideology in the same manner as Sowing Seeds in Danny. The initial question that inspired this dissertation was why Sowing Seeds in Danny disappeared from public and critical awareness while Anne of Green Gables continued to sell well to the present day and to garner critical and popular attention into the twenty-first century. In light of the fact that both books have in recent years come under condemnation and stand charged with maternal feminism, imperial motherhood, eugenics, and racism, one must ask further why this has now happened to both Danny and Anne. What has changed? The hypothesis of the dissertation is that Danny's relatively speedy disappearance was partly due to a shift in Canadians' religious worldview over the twentieth century as church attendance and biblical literacy gradually declined. McClung's rhetorical strategies look back to the dominant Protestantism of the nineteenth century, in contrast to Montgomery's, which look forward to the twentieth-century's waning of religious faith. Although there is enough Christianity in Montgomery's novel to have made it acceptable to her largely Christian reading public at the beginning of the century, its presentation is subtle enough that it does not disturb or baffle a twenty-first-century reader in the way McClung's does. McClung's novel is so forthright in its presentation of Christianity, with its use of nineteenth-century tropes and conventions and with its moralising didacticism, that the delightful aspects of the novel were soon lost to an increasingly secular reading public. Likewise, the recent critical challenges to both novels spring from a worldview at odds with the predominantly Christian worldview of 1908. The goal of the dissertation has been to read Sowing Seeds in Danny and Anne of Green Gables within the religious contexts of a 1908 reader in order to avoid an unquestioning twenty-first-century censure of these novels, and to ascertain the reasons for their divergent popularity and recent critical condemnation.

In 1908, two Canadian women published first novels that became instant best-sellers. Nellie McClung's Sowing Seeds in Danny initially outsold Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, but by 1965 McClung's book had largely disappeared from Canadian consciousness. The popularity of Anne, on the other hand, has continued to the present, and Anne has received far more academic and critical attention, especially since 1985. It is only recently that Anne of Green Gables has been criticized for its ideology in the same manner as Sowing Seeds in Danny. The initial question that inspired this dissertation was why Sowing Seeds in Danny disappeared from public and critical awareness while Anne of Green Gables continued to sell well to the present day and to garner critical and popular attention into the twenty-first century. In light of the fact that both books have in recent years come under condemnation and stand charged with maternal feminism, imperial motherhood, eugenics, and racism, one must ask further why this has now happened to both Danny and Anne. What has changed? The hypothesis of the dissertation is that Danny's relatively speedy disappearance was partly due to a shift in Canadians' religious worldview over the twentieth century as church attendance and biblical literacy gradually declined. McClung's rhetorical strategies look back to the dominant Protestantism of the nineteenth century, in contrast to Montgomery's, which look forward to the twentieth-century's waning of religious faith. Although there is enough Christianity in Montgomery's novel to have made it acceptable to her largely Christian reading public at the beginning of the century, its presentation is subtle enough that it does not disturb or baffle a twenty-first-century reader in the way McClung's does. McClung's novel is so forthright in its presentation of Christianity, with its use of nineteenth-century tropes and conventions and with its moralising didacticism, that the delightful aspects of the novel were soon lost to an increasingly secular reading public. Likewise, the recent critical challenges to both novels spring from a worldview at odds with the predominantly Christian worldview of 1908. The goal of the dissertation has been to read Sowing Seeds in Danny and Anne of Green Gables within the religious contexts of a 1908 reader in order to avoid an unquestioning twenty-first-century censure of these novels, and to ascertain the reasons for their divergent popularity and recent critical condemnation.

In 1908, two Canadian women published first novels that became instant best-sellers. Nellie McClung's Sowing Seeds in Danny initially outsold Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, but by 1965 McClung's book had largely disappeared from Canadian consciousness. The popularity of Anne, on the other hand, has continued to the present, and Anne has received far more academic and critical attention, especially since 1985. It is only recently that Anne of Green Gables has been criticized for its ideology in the same manner as Sowing Seeds in Danny. The initial question that inspired this dissertation was why Sowing Seeds in Danny disappeared from public and critical awareness while Anne of Green Gables continued to sell well to the present day and to garner critical and popular attention into the twenty-first century. In light of the fact that both books have in recent years come under condemnation and stand charged with maternal feminism, imperial motherhood, eugenics, and racism, one must ask further why this has now happened to both Danny and Anne. What has changed? The hypothesis of the dissertation is that Danny's relatively speedy disappearance was partly due to a shift in Canadians' religious worldview over the twentieth century as church attendance and biblical literacy gradually declined. McClung's rhetorical strategies look back to the dominant Protestantism of the nineteenth century, in contrast to Montgomery's, which look forward to the twentieth-century's waning of religious faith. Although there is enough Christianity in Montgomery's novel to have made it acceptable to her largely Christian reading public at the beginning of the century, its presentation is subtle enough that it does not disturb or baffle a twenty-first-century reader in the way McClung's does. McClung's novel is so forthright in its presentation of Christianity, with its use of nineteenth-century tropes and conventions and with its moralising didacticism, that the delightful aspects of the novel were soon lost to an increasingly secular reading public. Likewise, the recent critical challenges to both novels spring from a worldview at odds with the predominantly Christian worldview of 1908. The goal of the dissertation has been to read Sowing Seeds in Danny and Anne of Green Gables within the religious contexts of a 1908 reader in order to avoid an unquestioning twenty-first-century censure of these novels, and to ascertain the reasons for their divergent popularity and recent critical condemnation.

This thesis relates the resurgent evangelical Protestantism of mid-twentieth century New Zealand to the extensive international historiography which has emerged over the last thirty years, especially through the work of such scholars as David Bebbington in Britain and others in the USA, Canada and Australia. Understanding evangelicalism as a both an historical movement and a recurring set of doctrinal commitments, the new literature has highlighted evangelicalism as a trans-denominational and international movement, sharing such features as those identified in Bebbington�s quadrilateral. Weaving together the study of numerous key individuals, churches and organisations, the thesis argues that a self-aware, cross-denominational and fairly cohesive evangelical stream developed within New Zealand Protestantism between about 1930 and 1965. The thesis demonstrates that the university Evangelical Unions and the Inter-Varsity Fellowship (NZ) - both founded following a schism with the more liberal SCM in the early 1930s - were key factors in the reconstruction of evangelical identity and confidence and in the development of vigorous and expanding evangelical movements in New Zealand�s two largest Protestant denominations. The two key pre-war church leaders who inspired those movements, Thomas Miller (a confessionalist Presbyterian) and William Orange (a devotional Anglican), worked closely with the Evangelical Unions and IVF, and the leaders of the post-war evangelical movements (such as Graham Miller) had been significantly shaped by the EUs and IVF. Mid-century New Zealand evangelicalism was theologically conservative, but also emphasised reason, moderation and restraint, and those values were constantly reinforced by such leaders as Dr. John Laird and Professor E.M. Blaiklock. The renascent New Zealand evangelical movement rejected extremism, anti-intellectualism and ecclesiastical separatism. It explicitly distanced itself from American fundamentalism. In its outlook and cultural style, mid-twentieth century New Zealand evangelicalism largely reflected the prevailing Britishness of New Zealand in that period, and was strongly influenced by the British IVF. By the early 1960s, evangelicalism had become an increasingly significant element within Protestantism in New Zealand. As the movement matured, it had also become less cohesive.

Evangelicalism in western Canada was fuelled by fundamentalist theology and devotion which evolved in this region during the early twentieth century. Generally, Canadian evangelical theologians have focused on the historical and theological implications of evangelicalism within this area. Due to the nature of evangelical theology, which is governed by reason and the defense of truth and dogma, this Christian movement in the west ignored by default concepts connected to mystical theology. This thesis researches a question which has not had an adequate response within evangelical theological tradition, primarily as a result of its disregard for mystical theology. The issue of concern in this thesis is the nature of the process of sanctification of the soul, and particularly, the purpose of the silence of God during this time. Questions to be addressed are: `what is the nature of spiritual transformation?', `what transpires in the soul of the person?' and `what is the role of the `dark night' and the `silence of God' during this experience?' This research responds with an explanation to the underlying cause for the inability of evangelical spirituality in the Canadian west to respond to this issue. It also provides a plausible resolution to the problem which is embedded in the literature of John of the Cross, a sixteenth century Spanish mystic. / CHR SPIRIT, CHURCHIST, MISS / DTH (CHR SPIRIT)

This thesis seeks to show the ways in which Charlotte Brontë's fiction anticipates the concerns of contemporary feminist theology. Whilst Charlotte Brontë's novels have held a place of honor in feminist literary criticism for decades, there has been a critical tendency to associate the proto-feminism of Brontë's narratives with a rejection of Christianity—namely, that Brontë's heroines achieve their personal, social and spiritual emancipation by throwing off the shackles of a patriarchal Church Establishment. And although recent scholarly interest in Victorian Christianity has led to frequent interpretations that regard Brontë's texts as upholding a Christian worldview, in many such cases, the theology asserted in those interpretations arguably undermines the liberative impulse of the narratives. In both cases, the religious and romantic plots of Brontë's novels are viewed as incompatible. This thesis suggests that by reading Brontë's fiction in light of an interdisciplinary perspective that interweaves feminist and theological concerns, the narrative journeys of Brontë's heroines might be read as affirming both Christian faith and female empowerment. Specifically, this thesis will examine the ways in which feminist theologians have identified the need for Christian doctrines of sin and grace to be articulated in a manner that better reflects women's experiences. By exploring the interrelationship between women's writing and women's faith, particularly as it relates to the literary origins of feminist theology and Brontë's position within the nineteenth-century female publishing boom, Brontë's liberative imagination for female flourishing can be re-examined. As will be argued, when considered from the vantage point of feminist theology, 'Jane Eyre', 'Shirley', and 'Villette' portray women's need to experience grace as self-construction and interdependence rather than self-denial and subjugation.