This thesis uses a comparative case study as the means for demonstrating how the policies and attitudes of local churches are influenced by organisational factors. A model based on open systems theory reveals that each local church mediates and processes a variety of environmental inputs. As a result, the inputs are converted into outputs or products. The model, therefore, draws attention to the relationship between the churches and their environment and also to their internal structures and processes. In this instance a single input was followed through 'the system'. This concerned the question of the response of local churches to high levels of unemployment, and associated socio-political issues. The resultant data underlines how important for these churches is their 'religious' environment, particularly when it involves their parent denominations. The main finding, however, is that the two churches investigated were both able to mediate and modify environmental inputs on unemployment. It is, therefore, the 'internal' polities and organisational structures of local churches which are of prime importance. Despite the fact that these churches had different polities, it was possible to discern in each case the key interaction between formal and informal organisational structures and processes, and how these related to the position and activities of agents such as the minister and lay leaders. It was found, in more specific terms, that the most crucial influence on the internal processes of these churches came from the ministers. The investigation required a fourteen-month period of intensive fieldwork during which the writer was a participant observer in both churches. Other methods of data collection used included both structured and unstructured interviews and the monitoring and analysis of a wide range of secondary material. The findings presented here are a contribution to both the sociology of organisations and the sociology of religion. They also illustrate the value of ethnographic studies of the church in its manifestation as a local organisation.

The dissertation recontextualizes the iconographical developments of the Last Judgement scene in Central Italian mural painting in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries by exploring the theological and political contexts in which these scenes were produced. Two striking events mark the evolution of the Late Medieval Last Judgement scene: first, the revival of the 'complete' Last Judgement after a period of contraction, and second, the separation of Heaven and Hell from the Last Judgement. Both of these features reflect an increasing anxiety about the fate of the soul in the afterlife: a fate which, by the end of the thirteenth century, had moved from the end of time itself to the moment of an individual's death. The first chapter concerns Pietro Cavallini's fresco in S.Cecilia in Trastevere (c.1293), its place within the Roman tradition of Last Judgement scene, and its role as the earliest surviving monumental example of the 'complete' Last Judgement. Chapter II concerns the frescoes of S.Maria Donnaregina in Naples (c.1317-23), patronized by the Angevin queen, Maria of Hungary. In 1266 the Papacy conferred on Charles I of Anjou the Kingdom of Naples in exchange for defense of the Papal States, and the Angevins became the chief administrators of civil and penal justice throughout the Papal States and independent Guelf city-states. A discussion of Angevin iconography establishes a connection between Angevin self-image and the Last Judgement scene. Chapter III is devoted to Giotto's Last Judgement at the Arena Chapel in Padua (c.1305) and its imitator at S.Maria Maggiore in Tuscania (c.1320). The chapter includes a discussion of thirteenth-century papal decrees concerning the fate of the soul in the afterlife, the appearance of the penitent patron at the foot of the cross, and the possibility of a Papal-Angevin-Guelf influence on the production of both of these frescoes. Chapter IV on the "Angevin Connection" begins with a reinterpretation of the iconography of the Florence Baptistery mosaics (c.1271-1330) in terms of their patronage by the Church and the exclusively Guelf Guild of the Calimala. The first instance of the separation of Paradise and Inferno from the Last Judgement, in the Magdalen Chapel of the Bargello in Florence (c.1322), is discussed in light of the civic function of the chapel and of Angevin control of the office of podesta. The relief panels of the façade of Orvieto Cathedral (c.1290-1330) are also considered in view of Papal and Angevin domination of that city. In Chapter V the influence of the Magdalen Chapel's separation of Heaven and Hell is linked to the increasing secularization of the Last Judgement scene as evidenced in the Campo Santo, Pisa (c.1330) and the nave of S.Croce, Florence (c.1330). The revival of the 'complete' Last Judgement scene in Late Medieval Central Italy was the result of theological changes concerning the afterlife, the rise of the penitential movement, and the formation of the Papal-Angevin-Guelf alliance for whom the triumphant scene of judgement became emblematic. The individual's anxiety about the fate of his soul at the moment of death and the appropriation of the Last Judgement for use in secular contexts affected the separation of Heaven and Hell from the Last Judgement and brought about the secularization of a traditionally sacred scene.

From the time of the Reformation in England Anglo-vatican relations have typically been seen as a long history of unending antagonism. It is not common knowledge that in the period between 1846 and 1851 there was a notable, if temporary, lull in this animosity and even talk of establishing full diplomatic relations. This thesis aims to account for this thaw in tensions and to analyse the British response to the early 'liberal' years of Pope Pius IX, not only looking at government policy but also the attitude of the British public towards the new Pope. In addition, this study sets out not only to look at individual issues, such as the Risorgimento, the history of the Roman Catholic Church in England and the Irish question, but seeks to explain the interplay between them in order to come to a fuller understanding of British policy. This thesis reveals that British policy was based on the need to achieve a number of goals, such as a peaceful solution to the political crisis in the Italian peninsula and the curbing of the Irish agitation, and that it was held that an enlightened Pope could help in the fulfilment of these aims. The effort to improve relations in the end failed as it was undermined by an overoptimistic assessment of the Pope's liberalism and failure of the British government to appreciate the depth of anti-Catholic opinion among the British public and their representatives in Parliament. The result was that this short thaw in relations came to an abrupt end.

The evidence for this thesis includes several hundred pew disputes heard before the church courts in the period c.1550-1700. The jurisdictions examined here include the dioceses of York, of Chester, of Coventry and Lichfield, and of London. These have been supplemented by churchwardens' accounts, parish registers and vestry minutes. These sources also often contained pew lists and plans that are analysed alongside rate assessments and other taxation records. This thesis investigates the relationship between church seating arrangements and the social hierarchy of local communities in sixteenth and seventeenth century England. It firstly, therefore, explores both legal and official views regarding church seating and status. Secondly, it examines the nature and chronology of conflict over pews, and the social profile of disputants. Thirdly, it explores popular perceptions of the social order through the analysis of the depositional evidence generated by pew disputes. Fourthly, the chronology of pew litigation is explored in the light of ecclesiastical policy and the reaction to these policies in the localities, particularly during the 1630s. Fifthly, the thesis considers the possibility that dispute was a function of the function implication of changing methods of pew allocation. Finally, through the consideration of the meaning of conflict over church seating as it erupted in the context of three parishes over a number of years, the role each of these themes played in helping to construct the local social order is analysed. The analysis of the records of pew disputes and of the politics of space in church here enables us to perceive more clearly how contemporaries attempted to negotiate their social roles across a complex web of intersecting and overlapping hierarchies and thereby become agents in the recreation of the local social order. Moreover, depositional evidence in particular suggests that status itself was a compound phenomenon that incorporated a number of factors including wealth, age, gender, reputation and officeholding.

This thesis investigates religious life among the clergy and laity in the diocese of Lichfield, 1603-1642, including the role of Puritans, Catholics and Church Papists. Nicholas Tyacke has maintained that the implementation of Laudianism in Charles I's reign proved contentious, an interpretation criticised by some historians who aver that the Church continued to maintain a 'middle way'. This study finds that the evidence from the diocese largely supports Tyacke's interpretation. Proto-Laudian reforms were implemented in the see some years before the Laudian ascendancy through the episcopates of Neile and Overall. Every bishop in the period who undertook a programme of reform met local hostility and indifference, and sometimes the opposition of his ecclesiastical and lay superiors. Every religious group underwent change and development. Puritans and Catholics pursued strategies for survival, supported by their respective religious networks. Official opposition often had the effect of strengthening their resolve and confirming them in their beliefs. Local conformists' commitment to the established Church deepened during this period. They respected the Church's role as the official purveyor of religion, morality and the ecclesiastical rites of passage, without evidencing much theological understanding. In the 1630s Bishop Wright oversaw the Laudian programme of sacramental, sacerdotal and liturgical reform, but his lack of organisation, zeal and commitment frustrated Charles, Laud and some local diocesan officials. The changes met resistance, which gathered strength with the collapse of the Personal Rule and manifested itself either in a desire to return to the pre-Laudian Church, or in its root and branch reform. The strength of an individual's anti-Catholicism indicated which religious solution s/he supported. When war came, for the most part Puritans predictably supported Parliament, but a number of moderate Puritans supported the King. Even among the 'godly' fraternity allegiance could sometimes be determined by a variety of considerations.

The Popular party in the eighteenth century Church of Scotland has received little attention from historians and there has never been a comprehensive analysis of its nature and ideology. This dissertation is an attempt to remedy that defect. It commences by surveying the nineteenth and twentieth century literature which has dealt with the ecclesiastical history of eighteenth century Scotland and identifies the deficiencies in this as they affect the Popular party. It is suggested that an analysis of the theological writings of members is a prerequisite for understanding the nature of the party. Prior to providing this, however, the results of an attempt to identify members of the party are analysed. It is suggested that the most workable method of identification is one based on preparedness to dissent from pro-patronage measures and decisions at the General Assembly. This provides a means of identification of the most committed members of the party. Its geographical spread is then delineated, as are the theological, ecclesiastical and secular interests of its members, and the effects of party dominance on them. The dissertation then analyses Popular theology in the areas of the premises of theology, the nature of sin and salvation, and the practical implications of theology. The picture which emerges is one of considerable theological complexity which calls in question the assumption of doctrinal unity within the party. Popular thought on secular issues is then analysed in the areas of the nature of society, government, poverty and wealth, and culture. The interplay of liberal and conservative political impetuses is examined and the theological bases of the party's secular thought elicited. The patronage dispute is analysed and an interpretation is offered, based on both the published works of the party and proceedings at the General Assembly, which argues that the fundamental religious or spiritual motivation of Popular opposition to the patronage system has not been appreciated, and that therefore the evolution of the Popular response to patronage as revealed at the General Assembly has been misconstrued. The Popular party in the Church of Scotland between 1740 and 1800 emerges as a doctrinally complex party, including within its membership the full range of doctrinal opinion from Moderatism to traditional orthodoxy. The most influential section within the party, however, was an evangelical grouping which combined doctrinal orthodoxy with an Enlightened learning. It is suggested, finally, that preoccupation with the patronage dispute had led historians to misunderstand the Church of Scotland in the latter half of the eighteenth century and to underestimate the complexity and significance of the evolving theological alignment which was the key development in the period

A Critical Evaluation of the Evangelistic Preaching of Martyn Lloyd-Jones with Special Reference to his ‘Acts’ Series of Sermons and its Relevance for UK Pastors Today Abstract The ministry of David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981), a leading British preacher within the Reformed tradition, has been a subject of research in the decades since his death. In spite of the importance he himself attached to evangelistic preaching, however, no significant study has been conducted of his own evangelistic preaching. This dissertation explores his weekly evangelistic ministry based on the Book of Acts in the 1960s, his closing years at Westminster Chapel, London. The purpose is to consider the ongoing usefulness, if any, of his practice and method for ministers who stand in the same theological tradition today. The work examines, first, the convictions that drove Lloyd-Jones’ practice, using his published addresses as primary source material. Beyond a summary of his career and his influence (Chapter One), consideration is given to the religious and social context at the time of the Acts sermons, and to its significance for the approach Lloyd-Jones successfully adopted (Chapter Two). Chapter Three presents a detailed analysis of his sermons on the Acts of the Apostles and identifies a number of their characteristics. Having established the historical groundwork, the dissertation goes on in Chapter Four to focus on my own preaching in the context of the church of which I am a minister, serving within the Reformed tradition and following the approach modeled by Lloyd-Jones. Using questionnaires derived from the analysis of his sermons, surveys were undertaken of first, the church leaders and secondly, the Young People’s group. Their goal was to provide feedback that would serve to identify strengths and weaknesses in my own evangelistic preaching at the same time as to evaluate the appropriateness of maintaining Lloyd-Jones’ approach in the changed context of the early 21st century. The conclusion reached is that while changes in society today require some adaptation in terms of presentation and style, the essential characteristics of Lloyd-Jones’ preaching continue to be meaningful, because they arise from fundamental theological convictions that are unaffected by changes in human behaviour or thinking. Finally, Chapter Five asks how this study may be developed further, applying it in a wider context as well as in local-church ministry.

The Second Vatican Council set out a new vision of the ecclesial relationship between ordained and lay people in the Roman Catholic Church within its understanding of the church as the people of God. This is an important issue for the church’s self-understanding and mission; it also has practical implications for the Catholic Church in Scotland as it faces a sharp decline in vocations to the ordained priesthood, raising questions about the relative roles of priests and lay people. Dioceses are developing plans for closing and merging parishes based on projected numbers of priests, in an effort to maintain traditional patterns of church life. This study explored a different approach, based on the development of a partnership between ordained and lay people which reflects the theology of Vatican II. To investigate this possibility, the study drew on research carried out in two Scottish dioceses between 1998 and 2000. It found evidence that a new partnership between priests and people was developing in some parish communities, but it also found that diocesan commitments to collaborative working between ordained and lay were not reflected in the church’s practice and structures. These tensions between commitment and practice, which undermined efforts to create a new partnership, were analysed with the help of Receptive Ecumenism and Catholic Learning, a strategy for ecumenical engagement which addresses tensions in the church’s performance of its vocation by a critical appraisal of its own tradition and openness to the insights of others. By bringing together the experience of those who took part in the archived research with the theology of Receptive Ecumenism and Catholic Learning, the elements of a new ecclesial partnership between ordained and lay were identified. They open up the possibility of a different kind of future for the Catholic Church in Scotland.

The aim of this research was to find ways that would help reconcile contested ethical and pedagogic issues raised by the phenomenon of Teaching English as a Missionary Language (TEML): that is, the evangelical Christian use of English Language Teaching (ELT) as a means for achieving religious ends. Four aspects of ELT were examined as a way to identify factors that could contribute to an improved understanding between evangelical Christians and opponents of the appropriation of ELT for religious ends. These were cultural and linguistic hegemony, teacher authority, ethical accountability and teacher identity. This was done by using a combination of qualitative research methods and theological reflection to analyse the data from four case studies about why and how evangelical Christians taught English to speakers of other languages. A revised evangelical identity was used to create an original theological theory of action that describes the characteristics of an evangelical practice of ELT in a way that addresses criticisms made by ELT professionals. The new theory describes how the integration of knowledge drawn from human experience, theology and the social sciences can contribute to the mediation of the Christian faith in modern society. It incorporates a Christocentric understanding of mission as missio Dei, moral transparency regarding evangelical Christian motivation for teaching English and the pursuit of pedagogic excellence. The contribution to the understanding and practice of ELT by evangelical Christians that this research makes is that, by a embracing a Christocentric paradigm of mission as missio Dei and adopting a dialogic collaborative pedagogy, evangelical Christians can make a unique contribution on the basis of their faith towards a redemptive and harmonious relationship with their students and the wider community of ELT professionals.

The field of academic theology is presently maintaining the following about the critical thought of the Scottish thinker John Baillie (1886-1960): (1) Baillie’s so-called "mediating theology" does not have a concept to contribute to contemporary Christian thought; (2) Baillie's concept of "mediated immediacy" is important primarily for Baillie's thought in his Our Knowledge of God (1939); (3) mediated immediacy’s logic about knowledge of God is severely convoluted. Received positions which support the field's marginalization of mediated immediacy's contemporary relevance in particular, they come with a concession: (4) the field's confusion about mediated immediacy's meaning—this, as evidenced in over 75 years' worth of competing interpretations about mediated immediacy’s logic, in particular. This thesis centers primarily on Baillie's concept of mediated immediacy, taking as its primary aim the resolution of research issues (1-4). In doing so, it demonstrates that previous research has underestimated: the staying power of Baillie's mediating theology in general, mediated immediacy’s importance for Baillie’s mediating theology in particular, and mediated immediacy’s potential as a contribution to contemporary Christian thought. Along the way, it resolves several research issues which have been occasioned by perennial confusion about the logic of mediated immediacy's normative epistemology and descriptive epistemology in particular. Research contributions about the logic of mediated immediacy's epistemology per se, these derive from three additional research contributions: a diachronic trace of the development of Baillie's mediating theology (Baillie research has sought a comprehensive and cogent ordering of Baillie's non-systematically articulated critical thought; this thesis provides it, by identifying Baillie's espistemic and apologetic preoccupations across his critical thought's roughly 35-year development); a modeling of mediated immediacy's logic (previously absent in a research corpus whose literature ahs been replete with confusion), that logic's expression in what is found to be, contrary to the thrust of previous research, a concept of mediated immediacy that serves at least four functions for Baillie's mediating theology; and, a comprehensive and rigorous critical evaluation of mediated immediacy’s epistemology (also previously absent in Baillie research literature), a multi-disciplinary evaluation of it's logic (from contemporary philosophical-epistemological, empiricalpsychological and theological-epistemological perspectives), included. An evaluation warranted by the multi-disciplinary scope of Baillie's mediating theology, as well as by Baillie's employment of his rather versatile concept of mediated immediacy, this evaluation considers mediated immediacy's now robustly evaluated logic's consequences for core aspects of Baillie's mediating theology, including Baillie’s ideas of knowledge of God, divine action, divine revelation and religious experience. The definitive work on John Baillie's concept of mediated immediacy, this thesis is essential for those with an interest in John Baillie's critical thought. Amongst other things, the thesis challenges positions widely held by John Baillie research. For example, it demonstrates that a nascent form of mediated immediacy existed in Baillie's thought before the concept's first explicit mention in the mediating theologian's 1939 publication Our Knowledge of God. Here is a novel interpretation in the research. Furthermore, whereas previous research has rightly observed that Baillie’s critical thought gravitates toward the problems of revelation and knowledge of God in general, this thesis demonstrates that Baillie’s mediating theology focuses on one problem in particular— across the roughly 35-year span of its development: the problem of the epistemological relationship between direct knowledge and indirect knowledge for knowledge of God. In addition, this thesis demonstrates that Baillie’s latter mediating theology (post-1939) provides a stronger doctrine of the Holy Spirit than that found in Baillie's earlier critical thought. This thesis may also be of value to persons with broader interests, including the epistemic interplay between aspects of philosophy of religion, philosophical theology, and empirically-based interpretations of the phenomena of religious experience.