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The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the study of Pauline Christology by examining how Paul conceives of the exalted Christ. In particular it considers the exalted Christ through the lens of his absence and presence. The fact that the exalted Christ can be simultaneously present (e.g. Rom 8:10) and absent (e.g. Rom 8:34) points to the complexity in Paul’s conceptuality. The main argument of this thesis is that if the absence of Christ is carefully delineated then the seeming paradox concerning the presence and absence of Christ actually disappears. Given that New Testament studies have generally not considered the exalted Christ through this lens, in chapter one we do not present a history of research but provide an entry point to our thesis by examining how two of the 20th Century’s most significant Pauline scholars, Albert Schweitzer and Ernst Käsemann, conceived of the exalted Christ. These two Pauline interpreters are particularly relevant given that they view the exalted Christ in such sharply distinct ways and so help orientate us to the theological issues that are crucial to understanding the nature of the exalted Christ. In chapter two, we consider a number of texts where Paul expresses the reality of the absence of Christ from the world. We examine a number of passages which indicate that the absence of Christ is a bodily absence since, for Paul, the exalted Christ remains a human being with a discrete, located, human body. Because Christ retains a discrete and distinguishable human body, he is not universally located. In chapters three and four we turn to investigate three of the most significant modes of the presence of Christ and, in particular, consider how these relate to his bodily absence. In chapter three we consider his epiphanic presence and his dynamic presence. The former is seen in an extended section in 2 Corinthians (2:14-4:12) where Paul repeatedly employs epiphanic language and imagery. The dynamic mode of Christ’s presence is seen in texts where Paul portrays Christ as the agent of his own presence. Finally, in chapter four we consider the bodily presence of Christ. Here Paul employs the concept of the body to suggest Christ’s intense presence with his people whether individually, corporately or in the Lord’s Supper. This use of body imagery to express the presence of Christ would seem to call into question our suggestion that the absence of Christ might be understood in bodily terms. However, throughout this chapter we see that the bodily presence of Christ is a mediated presence and not an absolute, unqualified presence.

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Stanley 1. Grenz (d.2005) was a leading North American Evangelical theologian at the time of his death. This thesis argues that the concept of 'convertive' piety was at the heart of Grenz's theological project and by the time of the publication of his final work, the concept of convertive piety had been reinterpreted as 'trinitarian experience' . This thesis chm1s the process of that reinterpretation, by examining important aspects of Grenz's work and their relationship to this process of reinterpretation. Chapter one describes Grenz's self-understanding as a Baptist, an Evangelical and a Pietist. This chapter reveals how indebted Grenz was to his own theological tradition and gives context to Grenz's elevation of 'convertive piety' to the centre of his theological construction. Chapter two describes Grenz's understanding of the postmodern turn and why this understanding is important to the development of his concept of convertive piety. Indeed, chapter two proposes that Grenz, after engaging the postmodern critique, cast convertive piety as the basis for a theo-epistemology. Chapter three is titled, "Prolepsis and Perichoresis, Pm1 I: The Influence of Pannenberg" and Chapter four is titled, "Prolepsis and Perichoresis, PaJ1 II: The Appropriation of Pannenberg. Chapter three specifically examines how Grenz understood Pannenberg through his distillation of his mentor's thought in the monograph, Reason for Hope. Chapter four specifically examines the manner in which Grenz appropriated Pannenberg's thought in his own constructive work. Together, these two chapters describe Pannenberg's influence on Grenz's work, specifically on how Pannenberg's understanding of Trinity, anthropology and eschatology influence Grenz's understanding of convertive piety as the Christian reality. Chapter five, "Proposals" is the concluding chapter and it extrapolates implications of the thesis for Christian experience, epistemological opportunity, eschatological reality and trinitarian community.

This work offers the largest historical study of recruitment to the Anglican ministry attempted to date, focussing on the educational backgrounds of men taking orders in the period 1780-1839. It uncovers a significant number of nongraduate ordinands and argues that these men, largely overlooked by historiography, need integrating into accounts of the late Georgian Church. Such a revised account will provide a better understanding of the knowledge, skills and experience of the parish clergy, allow a more comprehensive view of the networks through which power and ideologies were disseminated among them and permit a more nuanced appreciation of the issue of social distance and pastoral proximity. The first part analyses the educational backgrounds of all those taking deacon's orders, seeking explanations both for fluctuations in the absolute numbers of ordinands, as well as for the varying proportions of non-graduates. By exploring this data, together with articulated episcopal ordination policies, a distinctive clerical culture in South Wales and the northern province is demonstrated, which found non-graduate clergy acceptable. In detailing policy changes in the northern province from the mid-1820s it is suggested that the imposition of new standards was instigated by incoming bishop of Chester, C.J. Blomfield. Part two begins by evaluating the educational environments at Oxford and Cambridge universities; at neither was undergraduate experience closely aligned with ordinands' needs. It then explores the two alternative routes to orders travelled by most non-graduates: specialist grammar schools, a distinctive feature of South Wales and North-West England, and tutors for orders who, at their most specialist, conceived of themselves as running small parish clerical seminaries. The decline of these alternative routes is contextualised in the formation of the first theological colleges at St Bees, Cumberland, and St David's, Lampeter, now placed in a continuum of non-graduate ordinand training, rather than presented as innovation.

Within the field of comparative religion, the methodological problem of comparing traditions that differ in their histories, theologies, and linguistic constructs persists. Rather than immediately establishing a cognitive bridge between two differing traditions, this study adopts the approach that a typology, specifically a typology of negativity, allows for a nuanced analysis into the comparative possibilities in Buddhism and Christianity. Within the larger scope of a typology of negativity, the teaching of emptiness, or śūnyatā, is examined in various traditions to have a better understanding of how it informs Buddhism; in a similar way, apophatic theology is examined in Christianity in order to show how it informs Christian thought. What binds these two traditions together herein is not a generalized or anecdotal connection, but rather a commitment to negativity, to examining how negation works in the language of these two traditions. The typology of negativity allows for a very specific “route” with which to establish a context of comparison. However, neither the typology nor the examination of negativity through emptiness in Buddhism and apophaticism in Christianity are enough to support a full comparison. An analytical bridge fills out the typology of negativity to help bring the concepts together and, more importantly, to find new comparative routes within the traditions themselves. This is attempted with Derridean deconstruction, specifically through différance in Buddhist emptiness and khôra in Christian apophaticism. Derridean différance and khôra provide a fluid language whereby problems of binary oppositions are bracketed and examined within the specific structures of sacred texts within the traditions. Furthermore, Derridean deconstruction provides the crux of the analytical argument because a deconstructed language of negativity, as it applies to a specific context within Buddhism and Christianity, opens new avenues of analysis and comparison.

This thesis is an investigation of three exemplary ‘faith ministries’ that are, or have been recently, active in the South-East of England. These ministries have embraced principle from the American Health Wealth and Prosperity Movement (HWPM). The author seeks to demonstrate that key concepts and approaches in the self- presentation or rhetoric of these church leaders have their foundations in popular American culture that has developed since the early 19th century, and that distinctive characteristics of these ministries are particular examples of the globalisation of American culture and, particularly, its distinctive pragmatism. The three ministries considered are Michael Reid, Colin Urquhart and Jerry Savelle (an American with an international ministry and offices in the UK). An interpretative methodology employing two cultural frameworks to deconstruct the movement’s rhetoric is applied to the writings, webcasts and other teaching materials marketed by these ministries. The first of these frameworks is a historical, interpretative theory acknowledging the distinctive influence of Pragmatism, Scottish Common Sense Realism, the Protestant Work Ethic and neo-Gnosticism that are an explanation of the roots and the continuing development of this way of thinking in American culture (and the globalisation of its religion). The second framework is a more religious interpretation that explains the nature of the movement’s ethos, worldview and interpretive assumptions. It acknowledges the influence of Positive Thinking, Subjective Idealism, Transcendentalism and New Thought. An analysis of the performative rhetoric and teachings of the three persons considered (and their mentors) examines the use of mechanistic language and concepts such as principles, steps and keys to describe how their teachings can work for people’s benefit. The thesis asks: What social and theological construction of reality, and what factors or reasons, make these ministries appealing to people, and what is the true nature of what these ministries offer? After a literature review and initial methodology, the rhetorical analysis proceeds by considering the nature of the ministries using insights from narrative theory, psychology, congregational studies, Maussian analysis, organisational theory, and theories of enchantment, charisma, class and cognitive dissonance. This thesis observes that while pragmatic religious solutions attract adherents disenchanted by advanced secularization in modern Britain, this often results in bewilderment when the promises of the rhetors fail. The thesis is original in its finding that many of the miracles claimed by such charismatic ministries are the result of suggestion similar to the miracles of the mind cure movement of the nineteenth century and any seemingly miraculous financial provision to leaders is the result of members of their discourse community giving in the hope that they may receive in return, these miracles are therefore often socially constructed.

This thesis project involves tracing the convergence of two biblical texts, Akedah (Genesis 22) and the Fourth Servant Song (Isaiah 53) in ancient Jewish and early Christian textual traditions. The passages share conceptual and verbal resonances, including the suffering of a righteous individual, God’s direct complicity in willing or commanding an unjust death, unresisting compliance with God’s will, notions of cultic sacrifice, exaltation and reward, among other mutual features. Given their intertextual connections, the two passages have been associated together in some ancient Jewish and Early Christian texts, within a context of suffering righteousness and sacrifice (i.e. martyrdom, persecution, Christ’s death). My thesis labels this apparent convergence of the primary texts as the Akedah Servant complex, and develops a dialogic method of intertextuality to determine the presence of the complex in selected passages. The texts are grouped into two periods: 1) Stage I or pre-Christian Jewish writings (pre-70CE); 2) Stage II or New Testament, in order to facilitate a comparative study of patterns and influences within and between each group. This thesis confirms the presence of the Akedah Servant complex in a range of texts in each stage, with an increasing tendency to be allied with soteriological motifs. This study indicates that the linking of Isaiah 53 and Genesis 22 is a long-standing tradition which resulted in shaping an early Christian model of atonement.

The portion of the Sahidic MS, BM Or.8810, containing Besa's writings is part of a parchment codex probably dating from the 8th century. The edition of it, together with a translation, forms the main part of the thesis. The MS contains epistles by Besa admonishing and exhorting his monks and nuns. Fragments of other writings by Besa are extant, most of which are unpublished. A study of them, and of BM Or.8810, has yielded material for an appraisal of the life and work of Besa and has thrown light on an important section of Coptic monasticism of the 5th century. Besa was a monk under Shenoute who appointed him to b his successor as abbot of the White Monastery (about 451 A.D.). Throughout his life, Besa continued to be strongly influenced by Shenoute's example, and by the Bible, and by his respect for monastic tradition. His essentially mild and peace-loving character was moulded by his high sense of duty towards God and his charges, enabling him to carry out his task of governing the monastery. From BM Or.8810 it can be seen how prominent a place Biblical quotations and allusions occupy in Besa's writings. An investigation of their text provides material for the study of the Sahidic Bible. Besa's use of the Bible is always subordinated to the subject-matter of his epistles. Besa’s writings, though not theological treatises, give some idea of his religious beliefs. His preoccupation with ethical teaching causes him to emphasise God's Judgment and lays him open to the charge of having neglected the importance of Christ's redemptive work. Of monastic life in Besa's day, his writings tell something of the ideal of fellowship, the vow, the renunciation of property, separation from the world, organisation, discipline, moral standards, work, the monks' charitable ministrations to laymen, religious exercises, and worship.

The thesis aims to consider some aspects of British theology in the first half of the twentieth century through the thinking of five representative figures on the theme of grace. The first two chapters give a broad historical introduction (I) and an outline of theological thinking in Britain during the period (II). James Denney (III) is chosen as a representative of an 'orthodox' Protestant approach. Arguing chiefly from the Pauline epistles he defends a 'substitutionary' view of atonement. In contrast Hastings Rashdall (IV) working largely from a historical survey and trying to present a moral view acceptable to modern man criticised 'substitutionary' thinking and advocated an 'Abelardian' or 'moral influence' view. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the two views so far considered. John Oman (v) criticises traditional ideas of grace as omnipotent power and advances the view of grace as 'fatherly persuasion' which is always available. This rests on his view of the relation between the Natural and the Supernatural. Oliver Quick (VI) is chosen for his more Catholic approach. He understands the work of Christ under the 'sacrificial' model and has a richer view of worship and sacraments underlying this is the idea of a sacramental universe. Finally, Donald Baillie (VII) is seen as a mediating figure. Here the stress is more on the experience of grace, and the use of the 'paradox of g race' as an approach to Christology is considered. The conclusion (VIII) suggests that there have been two traditional approaches to the understanding of grace, the Protestant and the Catholic, but that a third has emerged which begins from creation rather than redemption. As far as British theology is concerned it is chiefly represented by Oman. It is widely influential but its influence is not always recognised.