The evidentialist challenge to religious belief has been read as arguing that if it is not rational to accept a proposition about God, then one ought not to accept it. It is not rational to accept propositions about God unless one does so on the basis of other beliefs that constitute sufficient evidence for them, and with a firmness not exceeding that warranted by the strength of the evidence. Alvin Plantinga rejects the challenge on the grounds that the believer does not need evidence in order to be rational in believing these propositions. Despite the claim that Alvin Plantinga's essays constitute a radical departure from the customary philosophical ways of considering the rationality of religious belief and that they have decisively altered the nature of the debate, I suggest that Plantinga's views on the rationality of religious belief do not decisively alter the nature of the debate. His work is a sophisticated variation of the argument that religious beliefs may be justified directly by the appropriate sort of experience and it fails to overcome the demand that there be evidence to support the belief that God exists. Taking as my starting point the claim that legitimate comparisons can only be made between beliefs of the same logical type and suggestions to do with analogies between the epistemological status of aesthetic judgements and the epistemological status of religious beliefs, I make use of insights derived from the field of aesthetics in order to criticise both the evidentialist challenge to religious belief and Plantinga's reply to this challenge. In terms of the evidentialist challenge, I am concerned, in particular, with criticising the claim that there must be evidence if it is to be established that the word God does in fact have an application. With this in mind, I make use of, and develop, several ideas from the field of aesthetics; that to know that a work of art has a certain aesthetic quality one must be brought to see that this quality; the claim that aesthetic judgements cannot be supported with reasons in the logical sense; and, finally, the idea that classic works of art can disclose important truths about our lives.

The rise of the natural sciences is supposed to have rendered the medieval worldview that regarded humanity as the center of the universe completely obsolete. However, a high view of human significance in the cosmos continues to be inherent in much contemporary ecumenical theology, particularly in those streams that take a realist view of God’s action towards the world in Jesus Christ. This thesis defends the concept of <i>critical anthropocentrism</i>, which seeks to acknowledge a theological sense of human significance while being sensitive to contemporary scientific issues and perspectives on human nature. In part I, three modern ecumenical theologians - Lutheran Wolfhart Pannenberg, Roman Catholic Karl Rahner, and Greek Orthodox John Zizioulas - are examined for their understanding of human significance. The twin doctrines of the <i>imago dei</i> and the <i>incarnation</i> provide the focus for the investigation, which shows that human beings are significant because in them, certain eternal purposes and values are realized in creation. This is not accidental, but is part of the divine plan in creating the world. Human nature uniquely images God in the cosmos, most clearly and profoundly in the person of Jesus Christ. The incarnation is for various reasons a focal point in cosmic history, and so humanity, as the locus of the incarnation, occupies a position of vital cosmic significance. This becomes even clearer in eschatological perspective. While nuances of approach are evident in the three ecumenical theologians, the analysis shows that their theology is deeply and intrinsically <i>critically anthropocentric.</i> In part II, some epistemological boundaries are established for the dialogue between theology and science, with regard to the limits of the science and the scope of theological explanations. Some of the traditional arguments that are supposed to show that humans are insignificant in the cosmic scheme are examined. The investigation shows that modern natural science agrees that in human beings something very special has appeared in the universe. Contemporary science highlights unique features of human nature in relation to the non-human creation. This is evident in, among other things, the comparison of human with animal, hominid, artificial, and extra-terrestrial intelligence.

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There are Jewish literary traditions of <I>Isaac's</I> prayer which are different from the Biblical narrative in Gen 22. In the story of Aqedah, it looks as if Isaac's obedience and willingness together with Abraham's have been accepted in God's sight as sacrifice and something which forgives people's sins and which redeems people from all distress. This was done even without Isaac literally being sacrificed according to the tradition. If Jesus was familiar with these traditions, it could be that Jesus thought that his death and sacrifice might be accepted even without the actual performance of it. The last words of <I>Socrates</I> and his acceptance of his death without any compliant had been influential in the Hellenistic culture. As the Greek literature had a great influence on whatever happened in the literary world of the first century, it is just possible that Jesus was familiar with the story of the heroic death of Socrates and his words. In addition, our observation has brought us to the conclusion that the gospel writers have been influenced to some extent by the Greek writings. In any case it is likely that Jesus knew that to be troubled in the face of death was not considered honourable in the sight of wish people. Our reference to <I>Eleazar</I> sheds some light on the life of Jewish martyrs. We have noticed that the certainty and the willingness of Eleazar were exemplary for the other martyrs. There is no question of escape from his torture in Eleazar's mind. It is also to be noted that the tradition of martyrs is not new to Jesus. Eleazar prayed that his death may be accepted in expiatory sacrifice. There is a possibility of influence between the prayer of Eleazar and either Jesus or the Gospel writers.

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The thesis is divided into three parts. Part One examines nineteenth and early twentieth century patterns of Christian theological encounter with religious pluralism in India. Chapter One explores three adventitious traditions in India - Syrian Orthodoxy, 17^th century Roman Catholicism and 19^th century missionary Protestantism - and argues that each failed to engage India’s religious pluralism theologically. Chapter Two examines nineteenth century and early twentieth century Indian Christian theologians, and demonstrates that, in contrast to the three adventitious traditions, engagement with religious pluralism became an essential component of indigenous Indian theology. Based on this conclusion, Part Two offers an in-depth study of three South Asian Christian theologians whose writing were influential in the second half of twentieth century: Stanley Samartha (Chapter Three) who represents a pneumato-centric engagement with religious pluralism; Samuel Rayan (Chapter Four) who illustrates the application of Indian liberation theology to the challenge of religious pluralism; and Wesley Ariarajah (Chapter Five) who represents a theo-centric approach to religious pluralism; and Each of these theologians from South Asia will be examined in his own theological environment, but in assessing their theological ideas, the thesis will identify issues which they raise for Pentecostal reflection on religious pluralism. Part Three of the thesis focuses on Pentecostalism and religious pluralism in India. Chapter Six reviews the work of the few Pentecostal theologians who address the issue of religious pluralism, and draws upon the relevance of selected Pentecostal theologians from outside India. Building upon this precedent, Chapter Seven returns to challenges identified in Part Two, and lays out what, in the considered opinion of the researcher, constitutes the bases of an indigenous Indian Pentecostal theology of religious pluralism. The chapter will argue that where manifestations of the Holy Spirit can be identified in the popular religious experiences of Dalit people, Indian Pentecostal theologians have an opportunity to build a theology of religious pluralism that recognizes the activity of God’s Spirit in the lives of Dalit people.

This thesis proposes a methodology for invigorating the celebration of the Eucharist in the Church of South India in Kerala State, India. The proposed scheme uses the dramatic and didactic resources from the People’s Theatre. The aim is to develop a “People’s Eucharist” that will bring the laity of the church into the centre of liturgical action. The first chapter discusses the meaning of the Eucharist and the role of the liturgy in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is not only the church’s commemoration of the Last Supper and the passion of Christ; it is also its celebration of God’s victory in Jesus Christ. It is a means of reconciliation, transformation, communion and renewal through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is argued here that a good liturgy will facilitate the active participation of the whole congregation in the eucharistic celebration. It will enable the worshippers to experience the liberating and transforming presence of Christ in their midst. The worshippers will find their own stories enmeshed in the story of God’s salvation. They will encounter the vision and the challenge of the Kingdom of God. It is also argued that the inculturation of the liturgy is absolutely essential if the church’s liturgy is to be relevant and meaningful to insiders and outsiders. The second chapter, which is in three parts, contains an evaluation of the liturgical life of the Church of South India. In the first part it is argued that the liturgies of the CSI, namely, The Order of the Lord’s Supper (1950/’79) and its two alternate forms, are inadequate to meet the needs of the growing church to day. The church needs a liturgy that has close affinities to the life, struggles and the mission of the people of God, and which reflects the best of India’s spirituality and culture. The second part of the chapter contains the findings of a field survey conducted in the four Kerala CSI dioceses to discover people’s experience of the Eucharist. On their basis, it is contended that the liturgical worship in these dioceses fails to provoke people to transcend the boundaries of their private religious experiences and to take up the concerns of the Kingdom of God in the context of the church’s social tasks. The third part suggests certain guiding principles for liturgical renewal.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the potential offered by deconstructive criticism in general, and the insights of Jacques Derrida in particular, to feminist interpretation of the bible. I wish to argue broadly that feminism incorporates a programme which is 'deconstructive' in that it is committed to the dismantling of partriarchal power-structures, and thus that feminist biblical interpretation, in having to deal with texts that are partriarchal in outlook, should operate according to a hermeneutics which recognises and exploits at least some of the reading strategies currently associated with deconstructive literary criticism. The first chapter provides a critical outline of various kinds of feminist biblical interpretation, paying particular attention to the rhetorical criticism of Phyllis Trible and her assumptions concerning reading, writing and textuality. Chapter two broadens the discursive focus to look at patriarchal dualism and the concept of the essential Female, and goes on to consider the strengths and weaknesses of essentialism and relativism in feminist theory and exegesis. Chapter three looks at deconstruction and the work of Derrida, and assesses its viability as a matrix for a feminist biblical hermenuetics. Arguments against the kind of criticism deconstruction involves are introduced, beginning with Robert Alter's objectives to modern critical theory and his call for a return to a disinterested, 'neutral' reading. Chapter four continues the case against deconstruction, considering the claim that deconstruction is an inherently atheistic programme which cannot be brought to the bible without serious theological compromise. The relationship between rabbinic midrash and deconstruction is examined, along with the relevance this relationship has to feminist biblical interpretation.