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<p>This study attempts to determine Paul's meaning when he declares in Rom 1:18, "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven" (NRSV). Two questions in particular are addressed. First, what is the wrath of God? And, second, how is it revealed? Both questions are answered in the literary and theological context of Rom 1:16-3:26, where the revelation of wrath parallels that the righteousness (1:17, 3:21-26). A review of Paul's writings and scholarly literature shows that Paul uses both δικαιοσύνη θεοῡ and ὸρϒὴ θεοῡ as code-terms with a number of distinct but related meanings, categorized according to whether θεοῡ serves as a subjective genitive or a genitive of origin, wit further distinctions within reach category. While divine wrath and righteousness are revealed both eschatologically and, provisionally, in the present day, their most significant revelation takes place- simultaneously- as God's justice and mercy are vindicated in Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.</p> / Master of Theological Studies (MTS)

<p>This thesis considers how Christian ministers and other Christian workers may be trained to communicate the Christian message through public speaking, in a way that is Biblically sound, culturally appropriate and p edagogically inforrn ed. The data base for the thesis is a group of staff and students of Inter- Varsity Christian Fellowship Canada who attended a training conference in evangelism in November 1995. Twenty-two of the delegates to this conference who opted to receive training in evangelistic speaking returned a questionnaire on their understanding and practice of evangelistic speaking. The results of this questionnaire were considered from four perspectives: Biblical material on evangelism and evangelistic speaking; current missiological considerations; contemporar5r cultural trends, particularly the growth of postmodernism; and recent writings in tl.e area of pedagogr. The conclusion proposes a model for training evangelistic speakers in the light of this material, a model which may be applied in parachurch and seminary settings.</p> / Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to introduce the reader to the person and work of social philosopher and social theorist Jürgen Habermas. It introduces pertinent aspects of Habermas's biography, and surveys a portion of his library of writings. It then explains Habermas's communication theory, specifically his theory of communicative action. Then, Habermas's theory of discourse ethics is introduced and explicated. This thesis culminates with an examination of the appropriateness and applicability of Habermas's theory of discourse ethics for the development of a contemporary Christian ethic.</p> / Master of Divinity (M.Div)

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The meaning of the Markan Jesus' citation of Psalm 22:2 has long been a matter of debate amongst scholars in the field. More specifically, this debate centers on whether the citation is atomistic or contextual. In an effort both to join and move forward the dialogue on this subject, the primary question of this thesis is: How would Jesus' cry from the cross of Psalm 22:2 in Mark 15:34 have been understood by Mark's first-century readers given its context in the entire narrative of the gospel? The contribution of this thesis is in its multi-level approach to the above question by the examination of a variety of evidence that, in the end, indicates that Mark's earliest readers would have read and understood this psalmic citation as contextual. It is argued that, contra the opinion of the majority of Markan scholarship, a contextual reading of Psalm 22:2 in Mark 15:34 does not serve to negate or dilute the presentation of Jesus as one in distress and agony, but rather enhances this aspect of his death by underscoring his identity as a Righteous Sufferer who experiences suffering but has the promise of vindication. Among the evidence that supports a contextual reading of the citation in the Markan narrative is, (a) the importance of Jesus' impending resurrection/vindication and its foreshadowing in the Markan narrative; (b) the relatively consistent contextual use of the scriptures in the narrative prior to Mark 15:34; (c) the patterns of the textual and liturgical use of the psalms and the presence of the motif of the Righteous Sufferer in Mark's socio-cultural milieu; (d) the Markan presentation of Jesus as the Righteous Sufferer throughout the narrative; and (e) an exegesis of Mark 15:34 and the surrounding Markan passion-resurrection narrative with regard to the function of Ps 22 and the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. A test case of the argument presented in the previous chapters of the thesis is undertaken at the close of the study, when both Matthew and Luke's treatment of Ps 22 and other Righteous Sufferer language is considered, regarding their readings of Ps 22 in Mark as the earliest tangible evidence of the interpretation of the use of Ps 22 in his gospel.

<p>ATTITUDES OF ASIAN AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WHO LEFT THEIR ETHNIC CHURCHES FOR NON-ETHNIC CHURCHES EZRA JINYONG SOHN Doctor of Ministry May 2017 Advisers: Frank Chan, Milton Eng The author presents the difficulty of retaining younger English-speaking congregants as a ministry problem for Chinese and Korean American churches in New York City. The urgency, in the clarion call of Ken Fong (1990) and Helen Lee (1996), of cultivating healthier churches for second generation Asian Americans remains today. After several decades, the results of all our investment into second-generation Asian American ministries are unclear and questions abound: Does the lack of visible progress among Asian American ministries for over three decades indicate that homogenous church plants are missiologically ineffective? If an effective ministry model was developed for second generation Asian Americans, would there be healthy multiplication (on a national level)? Do the localized nature of fruitful Asian American ministries today point primarily to the individual competence of particular ministers and personalities? Is it too dreamy to envision a ?generational? church or national renewal for second generation Asian Americans? Do the contextual demands for a particular region supersede the general ministry demands of the second generation Asian Americans group? There is no clear indication that Asian American ministries have broken the code to the ?Silent Exodus? phenomenon or if an ethno-generational code even exists. There remains a need for data, exploratory ministries, and results to address the ?Silent Exodus.? The author?s study focuses on a narrow perspective within the ?Silent Exodus? phenomenon of those who actually found a destination and brackets out perspectives such as apostasy, those who stayed in the ethnic church despite grievances, and those who still have faith in Jesus but gave up on institutionalized religion. He recruited 165 Chinese and Korean Americans in six marque non-ethnic churches in New York City who attended an ethnic church for at least three years at some point in their life. He created an Asian American Christian Survey, a 36 Likert Scale and 4 Fill-in questionnaire, which seeks to measure the attitudes of Asian American Christians who left their ethnic churches for non-ethnic churches. The author discovered that the top reasons Asian Americans prefer the non-ethnic church are the same for each of the six marque churches: standard of excellence, their multicultural value, and their non-legalistic culture. The six marque churches surveyed are Trinity Grace Church, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New Life Fellowship, Times Square Church, Hope NYC, and Hillsong NYC. Another 68 respondents in the New York Metropolitan area, not attending these six marque churches, prefer their current churches to an Asian American church for the same top three reasons out of eleven evaluated: standard of excellence, their multicultural value, and their non-legalistic culture. Recommendations for ministry include thoughtfully deconstructing why current Asian American ministries are faltering and theologically constructing healthier Asian American ministries in light of insights learned from ministries creating destinations for the ?Silent Exodus? population, systemic changes regarding core values and practices, and developing leaders who embody these values. Research results overwhelmingly indicate incompetence and immaturity among Asian American ministry leaders.

The Sunday Assembly, a secular congregation with the motto ‘Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More’, took centre stage in the nonreligious marketplace in 2013. Since then, over 70 franchised global congregations have opened their doors to the nonreligious affiliated market. If Britain is displaying how religions can fade, the Sunday Assembly becomes the perfect case study to examine what comes next. This thesis is an ethnographic study of the Sunday Assembly London and utilises 35 semi-structured interviews with members of the congregation. It addresses what the Sunday Assembly reveals about believing, belonging and community, and their relationship with religion, secularisation and wonder. The study highlights generational trends towards nonreligion in the UK and, in particular, how the Sunday Assembly uses existing religious structures, rituals and practices to flourish. It is through this post-Christian transition that religion is understood as a chain of memory (Hervieu-Léger, 2000); that people are still seeking to belong, but do not wish to believe in a religious doctrine, thus ‘belonging without believing’ is transpiring. I argue that the demographic profile of Sunday Assembliers is homogeneous, with similar life experiences and values, the majority of whom once held a religious belief and now do not, are not hostile towards religion, are from the same ethnic group (white British), are typically middle class and seek to congregate, and thus represent a very different nonreligion estranged from its ‘New Atheist’ predecessors. The growth and initial demand of and for the Sunday Assembly indicate that a Christian culture still exists and the congregational community structure is still sought in a post- Christian transition. By rejecting Christianity, but with a heritage of Christian memory still persisting, the Sunday Assembly offers a suitable alternative to a congregational religious community. The Sunday Assembly warrants attention in the 21st century as it offers explanations to the changing nature of the religious landscape and nonreligious discourse in the West.

Thesis (M.A.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2009. / Thesis advisor: Katherine A. Hermes. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-80). Abstract available via the World Wide Web.

<p> There has been much debate in the Christian Church concerning the biblical roles of women. Complementarians continue to argue that females are never permitted to hold leadership positions in the Church over men. Yet, patriarchy in the Church continues to ignore the vast biblical evidence that women served in every level of church leadership in the first and second centuries of the Christian Church, instructing both men and women in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Some may argue that female leadership is not a "salvation issue", but to continue to silence the voices of half of the Christian Church is to ensure that the truth of the Gospel releases at half the speed. When the Bible is interpreted correctly, considering historical analysis and proper context, one will find that Jesus Christ broke the curse of patriarchy in the Church and sought to give women an equal place of authority among their brothers in Christ. Throughout scripture women served as pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets, and apostles. The Apostle Paul himself named Junia, who was a female apostle. Since apostles were considered the highest official position of leadership in the church, we can be sure that Paul was not promoting patriarchy in his more controversial writings concerning women. This thesis attempts to put Paul's writings into proper context and demonstrate that the entire New Testament not only supports female leadership, but praises it.</p>