From the Society of Jesus' first appearance in England in 1580, various political treatises, literary works, and theological discourses have attributed legendary plots, exploits, and malice to its members. For nearly two hundred years, the Jesuits were consistently portrayed as seditious regicides who would sacrifice all to regain England for Rome. Although modern scholarship has revealed the true nature of the myth of the evil Jesuits, few historians have attempted to explicate the reality. There have been biographies of individual sixteenth century Jesuits and studies of the Society's conflicts with the English secular clergy and of their pretended plots against the government but there has been no investigation of the English Jesuits as members of an international religious order. The Society of Jesus had a "pathway to God" in its Institute (that is, its Constitutions, decrees, and rules) which became more complicated throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Could it be adapted to the special conditions of England? Were the practices of the Jesuits there harmonious with those prescribed in the Institute? Or was England so singular that dispensations and concessions left the Society there scarcely recognizable as such to other Jesuits? Centring on the period from 1623 to 1688, from the initial enthusiasm at the erection of the province to the debacle of James II's collapse and flight, this thesis will consider the English Jesuits in the context of the Society's Institute. Not bound by any monastic vow of stability, the early Jesuits were dispersed throughout the world. The preservation and the confirmation of union among such members was a constant concern of St Ignatius Loyola and the early Society. Out of this concern evolved much of the Society's Institute and its ordinary manner of government, which are topics of the first chapter. Although the mission was opened in 1580, England did not become a fully constituted province until 1623. During the intervening forty-three years, the mission survived on the institutional fringe of the Society. It was the Society's first independent, permanent mission and, as such, was an exception to the customary style of government. Condemned as a novelty, the mission withstood the threats and objections of other provinces. Once erected, the English province was remarkably resilient in its adjustments to the vicissitudes of the English political scene. As the number of Jesuits increased, "colleges" and "residences" were established in England. The precise meaning of both terms has long eluded recusant historians and can only be understood fully if seen in the context of the Institute. Although most Jesuits lived with recusant families, there was a consistent effort to have a specific Jesuit house within each college and residence. Restricted by the Society's teachings on poverty and threatened by the penal laws, the province had to be very careful about its financial arrangements. The Society's Institute placed serious restrictions on the provincial institutions. Working within those limitations, the province was able to protect most of its capital and much of its real estate again t theft, confiscation, and apostasy through lay trustees and a complex system of interlocking trusts.

Taken from the Introduction: "Catholicism": What is it? Our title implies that it is not easily definable ... Herbert Kelly would have eschewed the word Catholicism and substituted the word Catholicity. Catholicism suggested to him a neatly ordered man-made system, coercive and repressive; in the deepest sense, a Godless thing. Catholicity, on the other hand, suggested to Kelly something quite different. He claimed that the word, Catholicity, properly understood, can be used appropriately only with regard to God, and never with regard to particular churches or individuals. It is one of those words which emphasises the universality, sovereignty and initiative of God. This is why we have chosen the word Catholicism in the title, not because we subscribe to Kelly's negative understanding of the word, but because we are primarily concerned with a particular man, his beliefs and opinions, and not with Almighty God. No doubt with a man like Herbert Kelly the question of God figures largely in the picture but He cannot be our starting point. We shall try to trace Herbert Kelly's attempt to find a "credible Catholicism". The route is a long and difficult one, involving an exploration into the personality and life of an extraordinary man who could be saintly yet childish; pelucid yet obtuse in almost everything he said, and wrote ...

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Jürgen Moltmann’s desire to see the relationship between humans and our natural environment improve is long-standing. In later years he called for a ‘new theological architecture’ to help facilitate an ‘ecological reformation’ of Christianity and society. While Moltmann did not claim to have created this new architecture, one of his work’s aims has clearly been to contribute towards it. To what extent has Moltmann been successful in this aim? Firstly, his doctrine of the Trinity provides the themes of love and relatedness which pervade and colour his whole project. These themes then interact with other key areas of Moltmann’s thought that inform this architecture: creation, God’s ongoing care and openness towards creation (largely pneumatology and christology), and eschatology. Each of these areas contribute to a theological architecture in which non-human creation, past, present, and future, is a full recipient of God’s uniting love and openness. Naturally this leads towards a consideration of the ecological reformation. Less positively, Moltmann’s discussion of God’s creating through self-restriction presents some problems for this architecture’s coherence, although Moltmann’s developing views on this do help provide a solution. Furthermore, analysis of the criticisms made by various commentators suggests that several debated areas are actually particularly productive for Moltmann’s contributions to the architecture. Other criticisms do highlight areas of concern and possible development, but do not present terminal problems. The potential for this architecture to address practice, not simply theory, increases through elements of Moltmann’s theological anthropology that challenge humanity’s behaviour. Those elements thus form a lens through which Moltmann’s wider contributions to the architecture more powerfully speak of the need for creation care. Therefore, while Moltmann’s contribution towards a new architecture for ecological reformation would be helped by certain modifications, nevertheless it is highly significant. Its wide scope makes it fertile for further contributions and development.

The aim of the thesis is to provide a tradition-specific 'Pentecostal rationality.' To do this it will first analyse and evaluate some of the main contemporary Pentecostal rationalities and' epistemologies (chapter 1), before proposing that Alasdair Macintyre's tradition-focused and historically-minded narrative approach is conducive in providing a more tradition-constituted Pentecostal rationality (chapter 2). Utilising the methodological insight of Macintyre, the thesis will then provide a philosophically informed historical narrative of a Pentecostal tradition, namely, the Elim Pentecostal Church, by exploring its underlying context and roots as a classical British Pentecostal movement (chapter 3), its emergence as a religious tradition (chapter 4), and its two major 'epistemological crises' (chapters 5 & 6). Based on this historical narration, the thesis will argue that Elim's tacit Pentecostal rationality is best defined as Pentecostal Biblical Pragmatism in a Foursquare Gospel framework. This form of rationality will then be developed vis-a-vis Elim's Pentecostal concept of truth (chapter 7), biblical hermeneutics (chapter 8), and pragmatic epistemic justification in dialogue with William Alston (chapter 9).

This thesis reveals, describes, and critically analyses the complex and little-studied lifeworld of elite Coptic Orthodox Christians living in Kuwait. As a sociotheological study, it contributes towards a greater understanding of the Coptic Orthodox Church's lived theology and diasporic situation on the Arabian Peninsula. Following a grounded theory, qualitative approach using interdisciplinary methods, the aim of the thesis was to describe Coptic Orthodoxy in Kuwait and then rescript the data to contest, complicate, and construct various sociological and theological theories. Material was gathered from St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church through participant observation, interviews, and literature analysis. The material was situated within the backdrop of the current literature, Coptic history, and the Kuwaiti context described as restrictive clientelism. Selected data were analysed sociologically and theologically. Randall Collins' Interaction Ritual theory was a primary tool. Data on prayer were analysed using a model based on a sociotheological reformulation of the theory of theosis grounded in the experienced activity of the Holy Spirit or pneumatic piety. The results of these analyses were placed in conversation with Pentecostalism for contextual, comparative, and dialogical purposes. The manuscript concludes with the contributions of this thesis while noting the future challenges and possibilities for continuing research.

This thesis elucidates the Spirit practices of Neocharismatic movements in India. Ever since the appearance of Charismatic movements, the Spirit theology has developed as a distinct kind of popular theology. The Neocharismatic movement in India developed within the last twenty years recapitulates Pentecostal nature spirituality with contextual applications. Pentecostalism has broadened itself accommodating all churches as widely diverse as healing emphasized, prosperity oriented free independent churches. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the Neocharismatic churches in Kerala, India; its relationship to Indian Pentecostalism and compares the Sprit practices. It is argued that the pneumatology practiced by the Neocharismatics in Kerala, is closely connected to the spirituality experienced by the Indian Pentecostals. Spiritual gifts, healing, spiritual warfare, exorcism, prayer and worship are significant to both movements. While emphasizing about healing, prosperity, and the miracles the movement is unable to cater the pastoral needs of those who could not experience any. The daily Christian experience with struggles and pain shapes the pneumatology of the Neocharismatics. However, the Neocharismatics practice it as emotional engagement with a modern outlook that relates to globalization. The argument engages with Pentecostalism as a global movement, and Neocharismatic Christianity as an advanced version of globalized Pentecostalism. Healing, prosperity and miracles give prime importance in the church. Hence spiritual life is seen as a fulfillment of a way out of the struggles of material life. This thesis suggests the need to construct a pneumatology for the Neocharismatics, which is focused towards the Christian doctrine. The Holy Spirit leads one to the knowledge and the joy in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, which overtakes any negative situations of life and transforms the believer to the image of Jesus Christ.

This work examines the important question of why there is deadlock in current Anglican discussions of fresh expressions of church. The study outlines the different perspectives represented by Mission-shaped Church and For the Parish, and how the discussions up to this point, in focusing on ecclesiology as a methodological approach, have not provided a way of bringing people together. This study will argue that a liturgical methodological approach provides a more appropriate model for discussion of mission in an Anglican context, and that a liturgical paradigm of continuity, adaptation and innovation presents a positive approach that can bring both sides of the current debate together. Up to this point, there has been a lack of thorough biblical research in this debate, and therefore the paradigm of continuity, adaptation and innovation will be based on a liturgical reading of Deuteronomy. This text is particularly appropriate given the way in which the narrative context shows the community responding to the change from a nomadic to agrarian lifestyle. The work undertakes a detailed liturgical reading of Deuteronomy 6 and 26, providing a more rigorous definition of the term liturgical and applying it to demonstrate the presence of continuity of community practices alongside adaptation of those practices and innovation in introducing new practices. It is these three strands of continuity, adaptation and innovation that are used in providing a paradigm of community change and transition that responds to the initial question and provides a means of holding together a variety of perspectives and seeking a way forwards.

Magister Theologiae - MTh / Christianity has been diverse from its beginning, with local congregations established in different geographic contexts. Over the centuries it has been, and still is, subject to further fragmentation. The rise of Pentecostalism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century has led to further fragmentation, also in South Africa. This study will contribute to the sub-discipline of contemporary church history by examining the ecumenical relationships between local churches. It will investigate the ongoing fragmentation of Christianity through the establishment of twelve new Pentecostal churches in the suburb of Belhar since the start of the century (2000-2013). These include: Breakthrough Christian Church, City of Grace (Living Waters) Community Centre, Philia Community Worship Centre, Logos Assembly of God Ministries, Belhar Lighthouse Family Church, Living Word and Faith Temple Church, Open Doors Full Gospel Church, Faith Christian Fellowship Church, New Birth Pentecostal Church, Moria Gemeentes Church, Edon Elohim Pentecostal Ministries and Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ. The questions that will be posed in this study are why such churches came into being, what attracts members to these newly established churches and how they understand the relationships with other Pentecostal churches and so-called mainline churches in Belhar and further afield. The research problem that will therefore be addressed is: “What are the factors contributing to the continual fragmentation of Christian churches in Belhar from 2000 to 2013?” By documenting the establishment, growth and ecumenical relations of such churches, this study will seek to enhance the understanding of the factors that led to further and rapid fragmentation of Christianity in South Africa.

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