Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Southern California, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 351-367.).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Tyndale Seminary, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-167).

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2007. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-187).

This research endeavors to answer the question of why the believer should obey, specifically considering the issues of motive and ability. The thesis of this study is that Jonathan Edwards provides the critical missing element of happiness in the sanctification debates of today, an element that is crucial for the doctrine of sanctification because it points to the One in whom true happiness is found and who is the believer’s good. This argument puts the focus on relationship and underlines the importance of union, all the while keeping the necessary tension of God’s work and man’s responsibility in obedience where Scripture places it. Edwards is a needed voice amid the questions that are raised concerning this essential doctrine today. Edwards shows that the affections and happiness do matter. This happiness comes through union, which not only connects the believer to the source of happiness, which is the Triune God but also enables a Christian to pursue it. Chapter 1 introduces the topic of study, setting the framework of what this research intends to do. Chapter 2 establishes the context of the sanctification debates today and the need in also showing how this context is bridged with Edwards own time. Chapter 3 provides the foundation of Edwards’s theology of sanctification with the Trinity, observing the ground of holiness, happiness, and grace. Chapter 4 gives the context of sanctification and how it fits into Edwards’s theology of the Christian life in a holistic redemption, showing both the objective and subjective work of Word and Spirit. Chapter 5 picks up the heart of the argument in looking at three major undercurrents in the Christian life as observed by Edwards, with the chapter answering the question of why the believer should obey. Chapter 6 explores the means to happiness, by examining the principle means of grace developed by Edwards all of which revolve around the truth of God’s Word as used by the Holy Spirit. Chapter 7 the research provides a biblical and theological evaluation of Edwards’s arguments as discussed in this dissertation, giving a defense of happiness as an answer to obedience. Chapter 8, the conclusion, presents the application of this research to the debates today as well as providing the theological legacy of Jonathan Edwards on the doctrine of sanctification.

It was my original hope to make the theology of Charles Simeon and his influence within the Church of England the subject of my research. However, inasmuch as "the apostle of the Cambridge Evangelicals" had already been studied by others, I was grateful to the Very Reverend Hugh Watt, D.D., D.Litt., former Principal of the New College, Edinburgh, for his suggestion to study, instead, Dr. John Edwards. Edwards was a distinguished, but now forgotten, predecessor of Simeon at Holy Trinity Church. My interest, therefore, has been divided between the theological and historical aspects of seventeenth century religion, and their continuing or recurring influence upon the eighteenth century awakening. This accounts for the space devoted to the period of Edwards's life and that which followed, and to the survey of the works of his "successors" both prominent and obscure, in Calvinistic thought. The thesis has been limited to the subject; yet, to examine the background and the later significance of his ideas seemed a vital part of the task. It will be observed that, for the sake of a more readable text, quotations from Edwards's works have been edited as regards spelling and punctuation. The sense of the passages, however, has been carefully maintained. A number of titles, moreover, received abbreviation in the Bibliography and footnotes. The aim, then, has been to discover and delineate the doctrines of the man in the light of his predecessors, contemporaries, and those who followed in his train. Little did the writer hope for as much significance as has been found; but the material has made the outline of the chapters. The thesis has grown from the reading of, and about, this voluminous writer of Cambridge, and the problem has been to limit the number of pages. Edwards brought introduction to several brilliant minds of the two centuries in which he lived. I thank him for this noble introduction to them and have sought to enter with sympathy into the experiences of their humbler contemporary in thinking and preaching.

Jonathan Edwards has been described as the "theologian of the will," the "theologian of the heart," and the "theologian of revival." This dissertation seeks to prove that Edwards should rightly be called the "theologian of prayer." Chapter 1 defines the parameters of this study and argues for the importance of Edwards's contribution to this area of practical theology. Chapter 2 examines the nature of God the Father, asking and answering three questions regarding prayer: Who is God? Does God answer prayer? and, What about unanswered prayer? Chapters 3, 5, and 7 examine Edwards's life and consider the role prayer played during three stressful times: his first pastorate, the First Great Awakening, and his dismissal from the church in Northampton. Chapter 4 considers the role of Christ in prayer. The answer to two questions provides the outline for Edwards's Christology: Who is Jesus? and, What is Jesus doing? Chapter 6 addresses the person and work of the Holy Spirit as it applies to prayer. Again, three questions drive the study: Who is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do? and, What does the Holy Spirit have to do with prayer? Chapter 8 looks at the nature of man and the role of faith in prayer. The questions that undergird this chapter are: What did man have in the creation? What did man lose in the Fall? and, What can man have again in the recreation? Chapter 9 summarizes Edwards's arguments and provides a brief exhortation to application. This dissertation contends that Edwards believed that an accurate theology of prayer requires a right understanding of God and man, of the Trinity and man's needs, of divine grace and human faith. Ultimately, Edwards's theology of prayer begins and ends with God. In all of his Trinitarian glory, God is the source and the summa of all grace. In saving fallen men through faith, he resumes communion with them that they might glorify and enjoy him forever, that they might seek him and savor him. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

Tesis para optar al grado de Magíster en Literatura / Autor no autoriza el acceso a texto completo de su documento.

Thesis advisor: Dennis Hale / Thesis advisor: Gerald Easter / Intellectuals' different self-understandings contribute to their development of different views on the people in society. And such different attitudes remarkably affect their ways of engaging their people in the specific cultural contexts. In the process of interactions, people's characters were established in their specific environments. Admittedly, intellectuals acted as intermediary between the core values/beliefs and the people. Fundamentally and ultimately it is our conceptions of God and our thinking of messages from Heaven that determines not only intellectual's self-awareness and their views on the people, but also people's actual self-understanding. I am trying to demonstrate that those lacking of sense of self-understanding were so tough to develop public awareness and take initiatives in civic participation, just like people in traditional Confucian society in ancient China. People of colonial New England were directed to cultivate their personal relationships with God and so also their sense of the self, which is compact with their active civic society. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science.

Texte remanié de: Ph. D. th.--Milwaukee (Wis.)--Marquette university. / Bibliogr. p. 384-416. Index.

The failure of regeneration of oak (Quercus spp.) and other hardwood species has been noted throughout eastern North America as well as on the eastern Edwards Plateau of central Texas. Previous research has suggested that two factors—prolonged periods of fire suppression and high densities of white-tailed deer—may be particularly influential in preventing seedlings of certain species from reaching the adult size class. It is also possible that these two factors interact, and the success of reintroducing fire to promote hardwood regeneration may depend on local deer density. This study, composed of observational and experimental components, first compared browsing frequency on woody plants in burned and unburned plots at six sites in central Texas. We found that although fire history did not affect browsing frequency, browsing frequency varied significantly among sites (likely due to differences in local deer densities) and among species. In our experimental study, we used cages to protect woody plants from deer herbivory in burned and unburned areas and compared growth after one year to plants of similar size and species that were exposed to herbivory. Plants in burned areas were significantly more likely to increase in height than plants in unburned areas. Similarly, plants protected from herbivory were more likely to increase in height after one year than plants that were browsed. There were no significant differences in the amount of growth woody plants in burned and unburned areas or plants that were caged or uncaged put on during one year. This is likely due to the extreme hot and dry weather that occurred across central Texas during the course of this study. These results support previous research showing that deer are currently limiting hardwood growth of multiple species on the eastern Edwards Plateau. Further, although it appears that fire can be used to stimulate hardwood growth (particularly during a non-drought year) successful hardwood regeneration is unlikely at current deer densities. / text