Thesis (M.A.)--Regent College, 1989. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 219-243).

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 111).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, May 2008. / Restricted until 9th May 2013, during which time access is available with the consent of the Head of School.

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, 1995. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-200).

Between 1979 and 1994, conservative, Protestant Christian fiction, or simply "evangelical fiction," has burgeoned into a powerful literary representative of America's modern evangelical subculture. This study examines that phenomenon by combining: (a) close textual analysis of the novels, particularly novels written by two important evangelical novelists--Janette Oke, romance writer, and Frank Peretti, author of supernatural thrillers; (b) analysis of the reading habits and tastes of 218 readers of evangelical fiction in the Muncie, Indiana, area by way of questionnaire responses and also follow-up interviews with 75 of those respondents; and (c) careful investigation of the cultural context in which these novels are written, published, and read.One particular issue investigated is whether readers read these novels primarily for entertainment or for spiritual edification. On one hand, these novels fit into the category of "popular" fiction and therefore meet readers' needs for entertainment, albeit entertainment that is consistent with evangelicals' theology, lifestyle, and world view. On the other hand, these novels fill readers' needs for edification, for overt religious support and teaching, for perpetuation of what evangelicals already believe. They are, in Roland Barthes' words, examples of doxa, i.e., history transformed into nature.Another special issue investigated is the role that these novels play in the battle against mainstream secular culture. In particular, Oke's novels function as cultural preservers, particularly of nineteenth-century models for the family, morality, and unworldliness; and Peretti's novels function as cultural combatants, actively naming and attacking secular enemies, especially the New Age movement and abortion industry.The study concludes that evangelical fiction not only reflects evangelical subculture, but also affects it; that the genre has undergone dramatic changes from 1979 to 1994 and that publishers, writers, and readers are calling for more sophisticated fiction. However, evangelical fiction, as a cultural expression, falls within what is sometimes called the "evangelical ghetto" and, since evangelicalism is a religious orthodoxy, the fiction will have difficulty emerging from that ghetto. / Department of English

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Baylor University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 224-226).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2008. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Sept. 14, 2009). Thesis advisor: Thomas Haddox. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The relationship between the Bible and literature is long-standing and has received increasing attention in recent years. This project investigates the interface between the Bible and literature by focusing on the genre of “parable”. The influence of the Bible on Western literature is considerable, and yet in the case of George MacDonald’s writing it is often overlooked. The “parabolic” is a helpful way to focus our discussion as it is an important genre both in Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God and more subtly in MacDonald’s fantasy and fairytale writing. It is remarkable that approximately a third of Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God comes in the form of parabolic speech. Rather than serving as a nice illustrative story to a theological point made elsewhere, the actual form of parabolic speech is crucial for the message it seeks to convey. Form and content work together in Jesus’ parables in a unique way to break open the reality depicted in parable. This thesis attempts to investigate a specifically biblical view of “parable” for understanding certain aspects of MacDonald’s fantasy literature. MacDonald developed a decidedly theological understanding of story as having the capacity to refresh the revelatory nature of Scripture. It is by the imagination that a poet is able to find new forms to recast and recover old and forgotten truths. By designating the poet as a finder rather than a maker, MacDonald resists Coleridge’s idealist inclinations to elevate the poet to a creator. His employment of story and more particularly the “parabolic” is then not only an aesthetic but also a theological choice. MacDonald’s last fantasy romance, Lilith, will serve as our test case to demonstrate this. Considering the “parabolic” in Lilith sheds significant light on the meaning of Lilith and offers up a decisive answer to the important question of whether MacDonald moves in his fantasy and fairytales from a decidedly Christian perspective to a more polyvalent view of reality. This argument shall be further substantiated by bringing to the light the important influence of Novalis on Lilith.