This thesis explores possibilities that arise from regarding theodicy as the activity of descriptive understanding of Christian belief and practice as found in the classical theistic framework. First, any theodicy as an activity is analysed in terms of the role of philosophy, the place of epistemology, the basis of theology, and the taking of an apologetic stance. It is then argued that traditional approaches to theodicy suffer from methodological weaknesses which derive from formulating theodicy in terms of unbelief, and from strictly theoretical analysis. The superiority of philosophical description is argued as better suited to understanding religious belief as held in the community of believers, with especial reference to relationships that hold between language and reality. A critical exploration follows of the approach to theodicy of a proponent of philosophical description, D.Z. Phillips, and consideration is given to the status of evaluations made by believers. In the light of this critique, two attempts are made to describe the shape of Christian theodicy using the interperson model of theological language. The first attempt, based on a description of actual interpersonal relationships, is found eventually to be open to serious objections. A second attempt is then made, based not only on interpersonal language, but using a distinction between "surface" and "depth" in religious language, and by arguing for the presence of an epistemological "direction" in religious belief. On this basis, a Theodicy of Dependence is developed as best describing the shape of Christian belief held in a world which is frequently hostile.

Historians have recently taken a renewed interest in the role of the Roman Catholic community within the confessionally divided English post-Reformation state, but the nature of the surviving sources has meant that most work has been directed towards the study of the gentry and the communities around their households. For the Herefordshire area, however, there is evidence in the form of local listings and material, focussing particularly on the Whitsun Riots of 1605, which make it possible to investigate popular Catholicism in some detail. This thesis seeks to establish, for the period from c.1580 to the eve of the Civil War, the identities and roles of Catholics within their local communities in Herefordshire. It looks at the social profile of Catholics, leadership roles taken by non-gentry Catholics, the relationship of plebeian Catholics to Catholic gentry and the varied types of Catholic community in the county. It considers the influence of the ecclesiastical courts, of Jesuits and seminary priests, and of the Welsh legacy in parishes along the Monmouthshire border. The thesis also explores both the ways that religious divisions played out in local society and the evidence for Catholic ritual practice and what this reveals about mission in the area.

An linguistic analysis of the langauge used in the Lindisfarne gospels, focussing upon the accusative/dative, the s/ð problem, problems in the strong and weak adjective, and the indicative and subjunctive moods.

This thesis on the interaction between Mizo traditional culture and Christianity proceeds in the following five steps: Firstly, Hnatlang practices are introduced, analyzed and identified as the principle of Mizo pre-Christian socio-cultural, political, economical, and religious development. Secondly, it is argued that the Mizo nation embraced and appropriated Christianity based on the cognitive framework of Hnatlang which, in turn, shaped their understanding of church and mission. Thirdly, it is proposed that a profound process of indigenous "translation", namely, by giving Hnatlang a central place in Christian understanding, was the major factor of indigenous church growth. This interpretation challenges the perspective that church growth in Mizoram was simply the fruit of the missionaries. Fourthly, it is shown that the application of the Hnatlang principle in the mission work of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church outside Mizoram led to significant friction and cultural dislocation in the (non-Mizo) target cultures in which the Mizo-s are agents the new "European missionaries" in India (Mizo missionaries act in the same manner as most of the European missionaries). Finally, the thesis offers a theological and missiological critique of Hnatlang practices.

In many ways, Jonathan Edwards and Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb are about as far apart as two figures could possibly be. Without minimizing their very real differences, however, this comparative study finds numerous parallels that beckon even the most conservative of Christians and Muslims to take a second look at their own faith, as well as the faith of the other. Encompassing a variety of disciplines, and spanning the globe from North America to the Arabian Gulf, this study examines the major themes in the lives and works of the Reverend and the Shaykh, two traditionalist icons of the eighteenth century in Christianity and Islam. With implications in diverse fields such as politics, law, philosophy, theology, religion, history, warfare, and even gender issues, this research unearths numerous striking parallels in Edwards and Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb that have heretofore gone unnoticed or largely ignored. Surprising congruences in their respective contexts, as well as in their conceptions of God, humanity, and the faith of the other, suggest that religious conservatives who revere these figures stand much to gain from a reassessment of long-held views that could lead to wholly new patterns of global engagement.

Methodism, as a hybrid denomination, being neither Anglican nor Free Church, was endowed by the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, with worship characterised by a twofold practice, the liturgy of The Book of Common Prayer on the one hand and the free form preaching service on the other. The thesis traces the history and the development of this pattern on through the use of the different service books, the latest of which is The Methodist Worship Book published in 1999. How this book came about is explored and the response to its publication by Methodist ministers, churches and members is researched by the use of questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Developments in the shape of the preaching service are also considered. Greater variety in Methodist worship in general is then reviewed. Some pointers for the future are explored, as indeed whether or not today’s alternative patterns of worship may be regarded as essentially Methodist.

Montanism can be regarded as the first of the many voices of protest that have been raised at intervals throughout the history of the Church against the idea of treating the lay believer as a subordinate part of a collective system. This reaction towards individualism on the part of the Montanists tended to go too far in some respects and the exaggerated enthusiasm and bigotry of certain members of the movement led to narrowness of outlook and excesses of behaviour which have no doubt coloured later historians' view of Montanism.

This research rises out of the perceived gap between rhetoric and reality in the congregational life of the church in the United States. Using the research tools of autoethnography and case study, it investigates the life settings of the researcher and the interior organizational dynamics of three cases, a for-profit, a nonprofit and a church organization. The research considers how organizational pre-conditions and traits and processes, leadership behavior and perspectives and the perceived benefits of an empowering environment, impacts the ability of the organization to implement and sustain an empowering environment. Three pre-conditions, namely, a flexibility in organizational behaviours, the total commitment of the primary leader, and a particular view of people were found to be essential. Four relational traits of voice, trust, authentication, and connectivity were discovered to generate a relational environment that was conducive to an empowering culture. No particular leadership style was found to be essential, only that the style could embrace the elements enumerated above. Personal and organizational benefits were outside the normative expectations of profit or other numerical measurements and closer to aspects of relationally and energy. There appeasers to be no significant difference between church and other organizational types in how empowerment functions. I conclude by reflecting on practical aspects and how the research journey impacted the researcher.

This thesis presents the history of Oneness Pentecostalism in the Philippines for the first time. It traces the origins, development and current state of this movement. This work will attempt to supply that information, and do so in a manner that recognizes the vital roles of the Filipinos. It argues that schism within the movement was unavoidable due to historical and cultural predispositions of the Filipinos when combined with the paternal methods of the missionaries, and the schismatic nature of Pentecostalism. Important leaders are examined and presented with heretofore-unpublished details of their lives and works, including missionaries and national leaders such as Diamond A. Noble and Wilde Almeda. Some of the many organizations are studied from the perspective of schism and success, and a summary of the entire movement is offered with an analysis as to why people have migrated into it and within it. It attempts to present a way of understanding Oneness Pentecostalism in the Philippines through the examination of schism; understanding that may contribute to a global understanding of the Oneness movement, or even of Pentecostalism as a whole.

This interdisciplinary study is a work of missiology and aims to formulate a model of partnership for mission in the Anglican Communion which can be used as a critical tool in order to understand the failures of the past and enable planning for the future. Throughout the thesis a consistent method of modelling is applied. This consists of the formulation of explanatory models from the examination of real instances, and their application as exploratory models in other contexts. It is argued that the explanatory models guiding the development of mutual responsibility and interdependence between the provinces of the Anglican Communion have been insufficient. Evidence is given of their inadequacy as exploratory models. It is further argued that models developed in response to crises in the Anglican Communion do not take seriously The Anglican Way of “discerning the mind of God.” An alternative explanatory model is distilled from the relationship between Paul and his community and the community of Christians in Philippi. This is applied as an exploratory model and is shown to enable a critical assessment of past and present programmes, and to be useful in developing new initiatives.