This thesis investigates Christian online communities, with special emphasis on studying the nature of community and the Internet. The purpose is to identify characteristics of community that individuals are seeking to cultivate in the online setting, showing possible implications for individuals in the “real world” church and offline communities. The key research question is: “What does online communication offer individual Christians and groups of Christian? How is the Internet changing Christians’ interaction with the real world Christian Church?” Each case study is analysed with data presented under four themes. First, The Online Community and the Online Context examined how each community used Internet technology and adapted to the online environment. Secondly, The Online Community and the Real World investigated how each community links online experiences with real world activities. Thirdly, The Online Community as a Community considered how each online group develops unique patterns of behaviour and a common identity. Finally, The Online Community Reflects on the Church demonstrated how members critique the real world Church community through the positive characteristics of online community they experienced. Through this study three conclusions are drawn. First, online involvement is not causing people to leave their local church or shy away from real world participation. Secondly, people join online communities primarily for relationships not information; relationships often noted as lacking in the offline Church. Thirdly, member’s descriptions of online community and reasons they give for online involvement provide a critique of the real world Church. Also the attributes of online community highlighted (relationship, care, value, consistent communication and in-depth/intimate communications) offer a picture of what individuals hope Christian community and the Church to be like.

This thesis addresses the role of religion(s) in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in the wider context of the emergent states of the former Yugoslavia. The thesis argues that although religion has been used to promote nationalist ideologies and the cause of war, it also can be a positive force for building peace. The dissertation further argues that the religious dimension includes the element of myth in the self-understanding of the Serbs, Bošniaks and Croats, and seeks to account for the influence of their myths in creating ethno-religious conflict. The thesis argues that the Western structural and materialist approach to peace-building can be strengthened to address pressing inter-personal needs of society more effectively by engaging the moral and ethical resources that religion has the potential to contribute. The dissertation will offer a critical evaluation of interventionist efforts of the international community towards peace-building, taking account of the evidence that cessation of military hostilities is countered by modest results in restoring civil society. In light of this, the thesis examines the role of religious sodalities as locally-generated initiatives in peace-building that express the hopes of peoples of faith. It is argued that religion in this capacity complements, rather than substitutes, secular initiative. The dissertation therefore makes use of primary research data gathered from among religious leaders, women, and students from the Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant communities as evidence of why and how persons of religious faith contribute to peace-building and social restoration in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Theological reflection on the three elements of (mytho)history, the sacred texts and the context of Bosnia-Herzegovina enables a contextual analysis of peace-building to emerge. The theological concept of ‘restoration’, which is derived from the primary research interviews, is framed with discussion of the creation and the eschaton in the sacred texts – the Bible and Qur’ān – as a comprehensive <i>Leitmotif</i> for peace-building. Social expression of restoration transpires in the religious faith sodalities where authentic spirituality is exercised towards forgiveness and healing, and re-creates wholeness from fragmentation. The thesis demonstrates that in the religious faith sodalities the personal narrative of the individual believer, together with the meta-narratives of Christianity and Islam, effectively counter the ideological narratives of nationalism, and, when extensively shared with others, build peace across national boundaries.

Despite nearly two centuries of fascination in the scholarly world with the history of Sogdian culture there are still many under-researched areas. In particular, the history of the dissemination and enculturation of Christianity among Sogdians is one such area, which despite material and textual witness has not been studied autonomously. Instead, it has been incorporated into a broader discourse of the geographical-historical spread and enculturation of Christianity into the Central Asian landmass. The existing studies on religions in Sogdiana have represented Sogdian society as a mosaic of religious communities with Zoroastrianism as a main religion which overshadowed the historical and socio-cultural significance of other religions such as Christianity among the Sogdians. This dissertation contends that Christianity among Sogdians, both in their native country and in the Diaspora, had a significant presence and that Sogdian Christians were instrumental in both enculturing Christianity as well as transmitting it to other ethnic groups. This argument emerges from contextual and comparative 'case studies' of diverse material culture and textual evidence affiliated with Sogdians and Christianity. The evidence covered in this dissertation collectively constitutes a unique source supplying information about aspects of 'Sogdian Christianity', such as its material and textual manifestations and its interrelationship with both its immediate cultural milieu and wider Christian oikoumene. In what follows, this dissertation will try to explain, through the testimony of the material and literary evidence, that Christianity among the Sogdian people had a footing in the local context and was expressed in local material and textual culture.

The following thesis seeks to understand ancient Jewish ideas concerning the present ontological state of humankind—to which we refer in terms of ancient Jewish ontoanthropology—by exploring tales about humans thought to have had a mystical encounter with the divine and to have undergone ontological change as a result. For beliefs about human mutability and mystical change cannot be grasped without an appreciation for the principal ontoanthropology underlying them, and vice versa. It is our contention, therefore, that any text which advances a mystical change assumes the human to be an intrinsically mutable creature. And it is our aim to gain knowledge of ancient Jewish ideas on such matters. The project consists of eight chapters. Chapter one introduces the subject, reviews pertinent literature and sets forth the approach and method to be utilised. Chapters two and three investigate Hekhalot Zutarti in the Hekhalot literature and Philo Judaeus’ De opificio mundi, respectively. It is demonstrated here how each work shows a deep concern for the mystical-transformative experience of the individual. Chapters four and five analyse Serekh ha-Yahad in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Here it is shown that the principal concern is the communal mystical-transformative experience. Chapters six and seven explore a motif in which humans are said to be able to ingest the presence of God and thereupon undergo ontological transformation. It is argued that this motif is critical to the message of Joseph and Aseneth and of utmost importance to tractate Sotah of the Babylonian Talmud. Our findings and chief contention will be revisited in chapter eight. In the end, the various explorations comprising the chapters will lead towards an aggregate portrait of ancient Jewish ontoanthropology. By studying accounts of mystical change, we gain insight into ancient Jewish beliefs about the transformative experience of those who encounter the divine in this life. We also gain understanding of the deeper assumptions about the inherent mutability and ontological potentiality of the human creature which underlie those accounts of mystical change.

This practical theology thesis investigates the theology gy of the Swiss theologian Karl Barth (1886-1968)in order to see if this can help the rural parishes of the Carlisle diocese as they face the challenges set ot in the latest mission and evangelism strategy Growing Disciples Vision and Strategy: 2011-2020 (GD). The exercise brings together, in a sharp conversation, Barth and the content of GD. The dialogue leads to several practical evangelistic outcomes that are offered to the traditional churches of the diocese. The partnership that is created between Barth and Carlisle is galvanised by focusing on several concerns about discipleship expressed by both parties. These include: the nature of revelation; the possibility of knowing God; the content of the gospel; the task of minisrty and the challenge of mission and evangelism. The strategic plan expresses anxiety over declining church attendance in the Carlisle diocese. This was a matter Barth faced during his early years as a pastor and it is argued that it is an issue that should not dominate the thinking of traditional churches or deflect them from the main task of mission and evangelism. By placing the roots of Barth's thinking in the arena of Canonical Narrative Theology, the Bible becomes the main source of instruction from which creative insights are derived. However, to aviod giving the impression that Barth's theology of mission and discipleship can be transferred uncritically to Carlisle, the argument is deliberately reflective as it weaves in and out of both Barth's theology and Carlisle's strategic mission plan. An attempt is made to construct practical outcomes in the form of resources which can be offered to the rural parishes of the diocese where there is eagerness to make new dosciples.

This thesis provides a critical analysis of Christian and Islamic theology of religions. The first section of the thesis, utilizing Alan Race's threefold typology together with alternative typologies, presents diverse Christian theologians' responses to religious pluralism. It argues that although Race's typology provides a good overview of current discussion on Christian theology of religions, it fails to do justice to more complex theologies. After paying specific attention to Rowan Williams' theology, it also argues that Rowan Williams' Trinitarian theology of religions, with its complexities, challenges both the threefold and other typologies and the pluralist assumption that only pluralism provides sufficient openness towards other religions. In the second section, the thesis questions the applicability of Race's threefold typology to Islamic theology of religions. It argues that Race's typology does not fully help to present Islamic theology of religions, as the application of inclusivist theology to Islamic theology seems to be problematic. Subsequently, providing diverse Islamic responses to religious diversity under the types of exclusivism and pluralism, it argues that both approaches do not satisfactorily respond to religious similarities and difference. In this respect, after careful consideration of Jerusha Lamptey's Muslima theology of religions, the thesis argues that she offers a sophisticated theology which pays attention to the problem of doing justice to both religious similarities and differences.

No description available.

In this thesis, I show that the commitments of a theological tradition are a conceptual resource which allows new and more robust responses to criticisms of virtue ethics. Until now, theological virtue ethics has not provided a distinctive response to these criticisms and has had to rely on arguments made by secular virtue ethicists. These arguments do not always address theological concerns and do not take advantage of the unique assets of theological ethics. This thesis resolves this problem by providing a chapter-by-chapter confrontation of criticisms of virtue ethics and offering a specifically theological response to each one. In so doing, it identifies the key theological commitments that enable these responses and constitute a particular strength of theological virtue ethics. I consider criticisms that attack the internal coherence or completeness of virtue ethics as well as those which associate virtue ethics with other problematic philosophical positions. In the former group, I address the claims that virtue ethics is not a complete moral theory, that it cannot explain right action, and that it relies on a flawed concept of character. In the latter, I deal with the arguments that virtue ethics must subscribe to moral particularism, moral relativism or egoism. The final part of the thesis returns to the previous chapters to draw out the concepts that are central to these responses. Theological work on the virtues has made important contributions to ethics but has so far been vulnerable to criticism. This thesis addresses this gap and highlights the advantages that theological commitments have to offer virtue ethics.

No description available.

This thesis is a study of the writings of three contemporary Asian Christian theologians - Kosuke Koyama, Choan-Seng Song, and Aloysius Pieris - within the context of their dialogue with Buddhism. In addition to examining the method and content of their dialogue, the intent of the thesis is to discern the impact of the dialogue upon their respective theologies, and engage the three theologians in an inter-contextual discussion that critically affirms their value for both Asian and Western theology. The thesis is a study in Asian contextual theology. The major reality that distinguishes the Asian context from others is the existence of many religious. Asian theologians immersed in their contexts are drawn into interreligious dialogue in order to reformulate and communicate their Christian faith. The three theologians at the heart of this study have all entered into an in-depth dialogue with Buddhism, a religion that has had an immense influence upon the lives of Asian peoples. A number of common theological issues emerge out of their dialogue with Buddhism. These fall into three main areas: Christian identity, theological method, and liberation theology; within which other issues related to spirituality, mission, theology of religions, doctrine and praxis, and christology also arise. An important aim of the thesis is to contribute towards a dialogue of contextual theologies, with the author's Western background and exposure to the Asian context providing, with the insights of other theologians, the basis for a critical but friendly dialogue with the theological issues raised by the three theologians. There are three main parts to the thesis. Part one consists of two chapters that provide introductions to Buddhism and Christian-Buddhist dialogue in Asia. The second and most substantial part of the thesis consists of three chapters, each devoted to one of the three theologians, examining how his thought has developed in dialogue with Buddhism. The final part has two chapters; the first consists of a critique of the theologians' dialogue with Buddhism and a critical engagement with the theological issues and challenges that emerge from the dialogue.