This thesis builds on Sanders' case that early Judaism saw the covenant as the sphere of salvation, revising it with respect to the function of Law-observance in the process that leads to final vindication, and offering a reading of Romans 1-8 against the background of a Jewish eschatological framework in which justification leads to eternal life. Chapters one and two maintain that Jewish sectarians of the second-temple period (esp. the Enochic stream and the Qumran sect) held that most of Israel was apostate (thus outside the saving efficacy of the covenant) and that God had renewed the covenant with an elect remnant that had repented of this historic pattern of disobedience and returned to the way of righteousness revealed in the sectarian interpretation of the Mosaic Law. This differs from the nationalistic view of the covenant assumed by Sanders and advocates of the new perspective on Paul. Even in those writings that are slightly less sectarian (e.g. Psalms of Solomon) it is evident that the heirs of salvation were the pious <I>within</I> Israel who pursued the way of righteousness revealed in the Law. While righteousness was a covenantal status possessed by those who observed the Law, it was also a forensic and eschatological idea, constituting the precondition for final justification that leads to eternal life. In chapters three to nine it is argued that Paul adopted the commonly held Jewish position that a status of righteousness within the covenant is the precondition for final justification that leads to eternal life (chapter three). For Paul, however, the problem of sin was so acute that he righteousness available through the Law of Moses failed as the means of attaining eschatological justification, which in turn raised a question of theodicy in relation to God's promises of salvation to Israel (chapter four).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the innovative theological praxis of 'Fresh Expressions of Church' can help reverse attendance decline. A combination of mixed-methods research and correlative theological analysis was used to evaluate fresh expressions praxis . . Existing quantitative data were used to illustrate a general reliance by churches on an experience of church attendance as a child for recruiting new adult churchgoers. However, recent trends of child attendance decline were shown to be increasing the proportion of adults with no child churchgoing experience (hereafter, 'unchurched adults') in the British population, thus threatening this strategy and implying an accelerated general decline. A study of fresh expressions and parish churches in the Diocese of Canterbury used quantitative and qualitative methods. Percentages of attendance by children were calculated from attendance records. Percentages of attendance by unchurched adults were calculated from 535 out of 607 questionnaires issued, a response rate of eighty-eight per cent. The processes by which newcomers are socialized into faith communities were investigated. through semistructured interviews with 103 participants. Two differences were found between fresh expressions and parish churches. Some fresh expressions, the 'Messy Churches', demonstrated a higher percentage of child attendance but a reduced ability to socialize adult newcomers. Fresh expressions were also better able to focus on specific social contexts. The socialization of newcomers was explained by a theory of cyclical reinforcement of changes to self-perception, integration into community and internalization of tradition. After applying a critical theological analysis using the typologies of Maurice, Troeltsch and Niebuhr, this study concludes that the major contribution of the fresh expressions movement is its capacity to reinvigorate the mission of all churches, but that Messy Churches, whether as fresh expressions or as an element of parish mission, may be particularly effective in helping reverse long-term decline.

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The thesis investigates post-mortem spiritual development with particular reference to the final destiny of the unevangelised in the context of open theism, using the concept of an intermediate state between death and the final consummation. Scripture warrant for the existence of an intermediate state is outlined and the occurrence of the idea in Patristic, medieval and Reformation theology noted. Varied interpretations of Christ’s descent to the underworld are given including the possibility of a grace-filled post-mortem encounter with Christ for the unevangelised. The main tenets of open theism are expounded, affirming the openness of God to interaction with his creatures. Emphasis is put on God’s limitation of his own sovereignty to allow for libertarian freedom with humans participating in choosing their own destiny in response to God’s grace. The idea of a change of direction or ‘second change’ after death is preferred to final decisions regarding destiny requiring to be made in this life. Spiritual development, and even conversion, are conceived as taking place in an intermediate state, leading to a theological position of ‘hopeful’ rather than dogmatic universalism. Finally, the practical consequences for the life of the Church are studied, including pastoral care, theodicy as an aid to mission, and the advancement of dialogue with people of other faiths.

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After surveying previous work done on the use of the OT in Rev 21.1-22.5, the present thesis concludes that more work remains to be done on the meaning and function of the OT in this section of the Apocalypse. The bulk of the study is devoted to a detailed analysis of the OT in Rev 21.1-22.5, paying special attention to what meaning effects are produced by the author's sustained allusion to and echo of Scripture, and how it functions within the discourse and structure of Rev 21.1-22.5. The present thesis also argues that the discontinuity between Rev 21.1-22.5 and the OT must also be accounted for, especially the 'universalism' of the more limited perspective of several of the OT texts upon which the author draws (e.g. Ezek 40-48). This study suggests that this transformation can be explained in light of fulfilment in Christ and the combination with more universal OT texts. By intertextual appeal to the OT, the author creates a plurality of semantic effects: new creation, new exodus, New Jerusalem, new covenant, the bride, new temple-priesthood, paradise restored and renewed, the inclusion of the nations, prophetic legitimization. The OT functions in Rev 21.1-22.5 to create a symbolic world of vision through which the readers' perception of their situation and their expectations of eschatological salvation are shaped. Negatively, the OT functions as a polemic against the Jewish antagonists and as a prophetic critique of Roman culture and ideology. By situating his discourse within the space of Scripture, the author constructs his own prophetic message in 21.1-22.5, which resonates with the deeper tones of those prior texts.

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