Dissent, a word usually associated with religion, is commonly used in modern language yet its complicated and multi-faceted nature is usually obscured. The best way in which to explore the issue of dissent is to consider it within the local community; an area which until relatively recently has been neglected within the historiography of seventeenth-century Scotland. This thesis is particularly concerned with the Covenanter Movement in Fife, and the contribution of Fifers to the Movement, but it is also the aim of the thesis to consider the nature of dissent more widely. The examination of dissent in Fife between c.16l0 and 1689 reveals that it was driven primarily by the laity and that it was remarkably deep-rooted and well-organized. Additionally, its character was chameleon-like, ranging from considerable subtlety in the years before the period of Covenanter rule, to the overt dissent of the years in which the Covenanters governed Scotland. Indeed, by institutionalizing dissent between 1638 and 1651, the Covenanters add an additional twist to the study of dissent. Consideration of Fife's contribution to the period of Covenanter rule suggests that, in national and governmental terms, the nobles, the traditional leaders of society, took the lead and were supported by the commissioners of the shires and burghs. At a local level, the period saw an increased concern for morality and order within the local kirk, and an increased co-operation between the kirk sessions and the civil magistrates, features which disintegrated during the Restoration period. Throughout this later period, the many faces of dissent were exhibited within Fife, ranging from subtlety to dissent of an aggressive nature. So belligerent was dissent in this period that, despite having gained control of the local institutions of government, the authorities appear to have been powerless to stem it.

he thesis argues that the crisis of pastoral authority and leadership in the Korean Church has come about because of authoritarianism. Authoritarianism pervades Korean pastoral leadership. It causes many problems of dysfunction in the Korean Church. Authoritarianism in the Korean pastoral leadership has been influenced by elements of Korean culture such as Shamanism and Confucianism, military culture and the Korean Christian heritage. While authority in these cultures is also explored and encouraged in this thesis, it is authoritarianism, usurping the place of authority, which has spread to the present Korean pastoral leadership. Authority, which in itself is neither good nor bad, can become authoritarianism, which is bad for both sides. It is unfortunate that authority itself is often misunderstood as authoritarianism. There will be no hope or healthy future for the church which has an authoritarian attitude or cast of mind. Therefore authoritarianism should be rooted out of the Korean pastoral leadership. When it goes, it leaves room for authority to take its place; where there is authority, there is an authoritative leadership. The author suggests a "leadership of biunf as an authoritative leadership; bium, meaning emptying or getting rid of, implies preparation for fulfilment. The target of bium, of course, is "authoritarianism."

This thesis creates a dialogue between the emerging view of mission within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), and the missiology of Lesslie Newbigin. In this dialogue, Newbigin is cast in the role of a mentor, that is, one who has considerable knowledge and experience and is available to advise and guide one who is following a similar and related, but different, path. The missiological discourse within PCI between 1990 and 2009 has been researched using reports and documents prepared by PCI's Boards and Committees, supplemented by interviews with three key informants. This has shown that PCI's missiological discourse has been driven by the changing social context, which can be described as one of an emerging post-Christendom culture, and the resulting need to develop an appropriate understanding and practice of mission. Lesslie Newbigin is an appropriate mentor for PCI, not just because his missiology engages with the issues facing PCI, but also because Newbigin was primarily a practitioner. Several themes from Newbigin are enlisted in the dialogue with PCI's missiology: his analysis of the missionary encounter between the gospel, the church of the missionary and the recipient culture; his theological understanding of the end of Christendom; and, the appropriate forms of the church in mission. Each of these themes provides a basis for evaluation of PCl's engagement with post-Christendom and its developing understanding and practice of mission. Finally, Kung's description of paradigm change in theology is utilised to show that, although its missiology has been in development, PCI is still in the phase of 'transitional uncertainty'. That is, the old understandings and forms are recognised to be inadequate in the new context, but a new, settled paradigm has not yet been achieved. Some practical suggestions for PCI as it negotiates this phase of transitional uncertainty are given.

Significant to the history of Protestant spirituality is the Puritan contribution. In this study, covering William Perkins to Richard Baxter, a chronological approach is utilized so that development as well as unity and diversity will be observed. Prayer, although primarily petition, encompasses the whole worship of God and is the principal way of serving him. Puritans pra7ed'privately, as families, and in public worship. With a scholastic theology, Puritans maintained intimate communion with God. Mystical, they studied the psycho-spiritual activity of the Spirit upon the individual. Their conviction, the Spirit is manifest primarily in prayer, led to controversy over set forms of prayer because they are not given by the Spirit. Detailed instructions encouraged prayer, answered objections, and covered the preliminaries and process of prayer. The necessary state of mind, humble, sincere, and believing, was analysed theologically and psychologically. The Lord's Prayer was seen as a model and synecdoche; each part and petition was fully expounded. Conservative Puritans felt the Prayer set a precedent for set forms; Congregationalists denied this. God always answers prayer but not by granting -what we ask. Men have a responsibility to endeavour to secure answers to their prayers. The family's importance for society and the church was recognized; it was considered a mini-church. Heads of households were instructed for maintaining family worship. In public worship prayer was primary. Warship and ministry were regulated by Scripture. To lead in corporate prayer, the spiritual gift of prayer was essential. As the Common Prayer left no place for such a. gift, the Puritans objected to it. Conservative Puritans saw a place for liturgical guides; Congregationalists did not. One reason was, enforcement infringed upon the autonomy of local congregations. The Puritan concept and practice of prayer typifies their casuistry: ample, scriptural, practical and balanced, mystical yet realistic.

This thesis opens with a survey of state policy and puritan political opinion from the 1620's to the l640's, emphasising the puritan notions of a world conflict of protestantism against the counter-reformation, the alleged symbiosis of catholicism with absolutism, and the association of political liberty with economic prosperity. Chaptel two examines the theories of Charles I's Scottish opponents from 1638 to 1641. The political thought of Charles Herle and other English parliamentarians of the first civil war (1642-46) forms the subject of the third chapter, while the fourth is devoted to Samuel Rutherford's Lex Rex, a major work of presbyterian political theory. Chapters five and six,analyse the position of the English presbyterian party in the controversies of 1647 to 1651, including the toleration issue, Pride's Purge, the king's execution, and the Engagement controversy. The seventh chapter explains the political thought of Edward Gee, a notable presbyterian of the interregnum. Chapter eight deals with two aspects of presbyterian relations with the exiled Charles II: his Scottish "restoration" of 1650-51 and the English presbyterians' contribution towards his eventual restoration in 1660. Chapter nine examines the political theories of the Scottish covenanters from the 1660's to the 1680 s. The final chapter studies the English presbyterians' contribution to political thought from 1660 to 1689, including the exclusion crisis of 1679-81. Throughout the thesis the firm constitutionalism of the presbyterians is shown, and emphasis is placed upon elucidating the presbyterian concepts of the nature of liberty and authority, and the characteristic presbyterian justification of their theories by scripture and reason.

No description available.

In the history of the constitutional development of the Reformation, there is room for an enquiry into the office of Superintendents in Scotland. The office forms an important feature in the Church constitution of the first Reformation period in Scotland, which is embodied in the First Book of Discipline and more fully developed in the Acts of the General Assembly, and it is necessary that its place should be defined and its effectiveness estimated. The problem is to discover in what manner and to what extent at this early stage of Church constitutional development, when as yet no Presbyteries had been erected, the functions which were later taken over by these bodies were performed by the Superintendents, who were introduced primarily to help to establish the Reformation throughout the country, and whose office formed such an important link between the General Assembly and the particular churches. The consideration that the Superintendents, as office-bearers elected for life, discharged some of the duties of bishops, and the fact also that at different times, from the XVIIth century onward, they were claimed both by Presbyterians and Episcopalians, necessitate not only a careful study of the sphere of activity and authority of the Superintendents, but also an attempt to reveal the ideas/ ideas said influences leading up to the establishment of the office, and involve the question as to what extent the government of the Church at that time was fully Presbyterian. An interesting feature of the subject is that in Scotland, which has always been regarded as the home of Presbyterian doctrine and practice, Knox, a devoted disciple of Calvin, instituted such an office of higher, individual office-bearers. In more recent times, further importance and actual-ity has been lent to our subject by the dissatisfaction expressed by some with regard to the weakness of Presbytery control over ministers and congregations, and by the sugges-tion that this difficulty might be removed by the intro-duction of an office similar to that of Knox's Superintendents. And again, in connection with Union problems raised by negotiations as represented by the Lambeth Conferences, one might think of Superintendents as a means of rapproche-ment. A final, somewhat subjective reason for undertaking this research lies in the fact that the Hungarian Reformed Church, though on definite Presbytero-Calvinistic grounds, for reasons of convenience has retained a similar office in that of its 'Bishops'. Our method of treating the problems stated will be to divide the work into three parts. In the first part, dealing with the origins of the office, we shall examine the/ the ideas and influence of the leading Reformers and the practice of similar offices in other countries, which might have affected Knox in instituting the office of Superintendent. In the second part, we shall make a detailed examination of the office of Superintendent as it existed in practice in Scotland between the years 1560 and 1572, And in the third part, we shall give a brief comparative account of the development of the Church con-stitution after 1572, noting the changes which took place up to 1610, when the period of the First Episcopacy began, and observing the decline and actual cessation of the office of Superintendents.

This thesis is a religious and intellectual history of the public career of the Revd Isaac Nelson, perhaps the most controversial figure in nineteenth-century Irish Presbyterianism. The thesis employs Nelson's public career as a means of furtheriilg our understanding .of several major thematic issues. These primarily include evangelicalism, abolitionism, anti-revivalism, land reform, and Irish horne rule. Nelson was probably the most zealous abolitionist among the Ulster Presbyterians, and worked through the Belfast Anti-Slavery Society and alongside leading American abolitionists to oppose proslavery religion and politics. Owing to his involvement with antislavery, Nelson should not be viewed as a parochial figure but as one whose career needs to be understood in its transatlantic context. While the vast majority of evangelical Presbyterians supported the 1859 religious revival in Ulster, Nelson opposed the movement in the name of defending confessional Reformed orthodoxy. His opposition to 1859 has caused considerable misunderstanding, and so one of the major objectives of this thesis is to correct the supposition that he condemned the awakening from a standpoint hostile to evangelical religion. Nelson's support for the Land League and the Irish Home Rule movement could simply be seen as evidence of his eccentricity. This thesis, however, contends that Nelson's support for horne rule was intellectually sophisticated and that his arguments deserve to be taken seriously.

The main aim of the Teachers' Training College (ITC) in Makkah Al-Mukkaramah, Saudi Arabia, is to develop an interest in scientific research and reading, and to conduct meaningful conversations so that pupils are trained to be good housewives, experienced researchers and professional educators in order to use their abilities to develop the Saudi community scientifically, socially, mentally and physically. The information system at TTC has a number of problems, particularly difficulties which are connected to the rapid increase in student records, the duplication of records, the fact that student information is distributed in different departments, the lack of information control, the insufficient number of information professionals, the lack of training, the shortcomings in satisfying user needs, deficiencies in the ICT infrastructure, and the absence of security planning. The senior management of the Teachers' Training College knows that the organisation has information-related problems, with information overload being a particularly prominent issue. However, these managers seem powerless to identify the root causes, being neither able to identify the source of the problems nor the people responsible for them. This research aims to study the methodological context in which recommendations for change can be made, and to apply an appropriate methodology (or multimethodology) to the development of an information system for use in the Teachers' Training College in Makkah Al-Mukkaramah.

The following study is an attempt to delineate the life and work of John Glas (1695-1773). and to trace the origins, early development, and effects of the religious movement which he initiated. As far as is known to the present writer, no extended treatment of Glas's career, teaching, and movement, has hitherto been offered. The fullest account of Glas consists Of a series of six articles which first appeared in "The Theological Repository" (Liverpool), N. 6., Vol- 111 (1807), the writer of which was probably William Jones, the editor of that periodical. With the exception of the last article, this material was substantially reproduced in the memoirs prefixed respectively to an edition (1813) of Glas's "The Testimony of the King of Martyrs", and to the second edition (1828) of his "The Rise and Progress of the Controversy about the National Covenants". In recent times interesting outlines have been contributed to the "Dictionary of National Biography" by the Rev. Alexander Gordon., and to the "Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics" and the "Encyclopaedia brittanica" (11th edition) by the Rev. Dugald Macfadyen, but these are necessarily limited in their scope. One reason why more attention has not been given to the Glasite movement is that the Glasites., acting on their principle of avoiding publicity, have maintained an attitude of reserve respenting their own history. The present, writer however, has gratefully to acknowledge much valuable help and personal kind- ness from Elders, members, and adherents of the Glasite connection He has, visited the four remaining Glasite or Sandemanian, churches In Edinburgh, Glasgow,, and London., as well as the homes of Glasite friends in these cities, Dundee, Perth, and elsewhere. Many manuscripts and letters, including several in the hand-writing of Glass Sandeman, and other leaders in Britain and America,, have been carefully preserved. These have been readily placed at the writer's service and have provided invaluable material for a reconsideration, of the personality and influence of Jobn Glas. The method of treatment adopted is, as follows: - Part 1 covers the period of Glas's life and labours, with special attention to the origin of the controversy in which he was Involved;, the process against Glas in the Church Courts, re- sulting in his deposition from the ministry of the Church of Scotland; and his. later ministry among the churches which arose from his teaching and witness. An attempt is also made to summarise the character of Glas as preacher, scholar, and man. Part II. deals with the distinctive teaching of Glas in relation to Christian Salvation, the Nature and Constitution of the Church, and to Christian Practice. Part III. seeks to show the causes and effects of Glas's movement in its extension beyond Scotland, particularly In England, Wales,, and America., Part IV, contains a brief evaluation or the Glasite movement, indicating its relation to the times, Its influence on contemporary thought,, its theological limitations, and the reasons of Its decline* The Appendix contains a review of the influence of Glas's teaching and movement upon other religious bodies which, though having no direct connection with his Commmion, absorbed various elements of his theology and preserved certain features of the Glasite church order. The churches which sprang directly from Glas's movement are sometimes denominated "Glasite" and at other times "Sandemanlan"-