Thesis (Ph. D. in Religion)--Vanderbilt University, May 2009. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

In 1977 the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church of South Africa (MCSA) decided to discontinue its practice of sending messages of goodwill to the Heads of State of the Southern African region (including Transkei). The Prime Minister ofTranskei interpreted this resolution as implying the non-recognition ofTranskeian political independence, obtained from the Republic of South Africa in 1976, and expressed his intention to ban the MCSA in Transkei and replace it by the Methodist Church of Transkei (MCT) The thesis presents, in narrative form (Chapter 2), a detailed description of the process of the schism ( 12 January 1978 to 2 June 1978). Chapter 3 analyses the political and ecclesial context of the schism comprehensively by examining three main issues: the Methodist tradition in the Eastern Cape and Transkei, the Methodist tradition of pledging loyalty to the Head of State and the emergence of Transkei as a geo-political state. Chapter 4 focuses on the reaction of the Transkeian Methodists to the dispute between the Transkeian Government and the MCSA. The loyalties which influenced their reaction are identified and analysed. In this study the whole process of the schism is seen as an interplay between and clash of different loyalties. Chapter 5 reviews the different models and typologies used to explain and interpret the African Independent/Initiated Church movement. The aim is to identify the elements in these models which are relevant for an understanding of this schism. Chapter 6 concludes the study by considering five areas of missiological importance highlighted by the 1978 Methodist schism in Transkei, namely: ( 1) the research questions, (2) mission and unity, (3) mission and ethnic issues, (4) prophetic mission, and (5) prophetic ambivalence. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)

This thesis seeks to explore the concepts of humanity within Wesley’s soteriology and African perspectives in response to the call of the leadership of the Methodist church of Southern Africa (MCSA) to develop theology that is informed by our Southern African context. The central problem of the paper attempts to understand how people within the life of the MCSA interact with an understanding of humanity that is formed within the frameworks of Nguni and Sotho culture as well as Christian perspectives. The thesis maps Wesley’s anthropology through his own experience of God and particularly within the trajectory of his soteriology. It also seeks unpack an understanding of humanity within the framework of Ubuntu. In attempt to ground the conversation within the lived experience of the MCSA the paper also draws in data from two focus groups that are comprised of laity and ministers in training, respectively as well as through feedback from questionnaires that the participants in the two focus groups completed. The thesis makes use of an interpretive qualitative approach to explore the interplay of the different world – views in the lives of the participants as they share who they understand themselves to be and why they hold those particular views. The paper concludes with the observation of a pattern within the feedback from the participants that within the lives of the participants there seems to be a difference in their theoretical conception of humanity and their lived experience of their humanity. Within their theoretical understanding the participants were able to draw equally from their cultural perspectives and their Christian understanding, whilst within their lived experience, participants drew their understanding mainly from their Christian perspectives. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / THE PROBLEM OF THE DISSERTATION: The problem of this dissertation is to discover and evaluate what has been written about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in selected adult church literature of The Methodist Church from 1941-63. THE METHOD OF THE DISSERTATION: A combination of historical, descriptive and analytical methods are used. Consideration is first given to the development of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit from Old Testament times to the present. In the light of this development criteria are formulated and used to discover how the doctrine is treated in the church school literature. Selected curriculum series are analyzed and evaluated [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Problem The problem of this dissertation is to discover through a pilot research project some of the family planning attitudes of Methodist seminary husbands and wives. Method Through the use of a 70-item pretested, precoded, printed, and mailed questionnaire constructed by the author, 60 couples in each of 10 of Methodism's 12 seminaries were tested. The sample was constructed so as to give every Methodist married student in all 10 seminaries an equal chance of being selected for the study. Because no comparative data existed, a smaller number of couples in 13 non-Methodist seminaries were chosen in order to provide two comparison groups, not discussed here. Two follow-up efforts. A response rate of 92.4 per cent was achieved for the 1,980 questionnaires mailed. Validity was sought through the use of experts, a Background Group, interviews, a Sentence Completion Test, and a frequency distribution. A reliability index of 96 per cent was obtained through a test-retest procedure. All data analysis was done on an IBM 1620 computer. The dissertation consists of a backgrounds chapter (Chapter II), a chapter on methodology (Chapter III), a chapter on results and interpretation (Chapter IV), a chapter on results of chi square tests (Chapter V), and a conclusions chapter (Chapter VI) [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

Thesis (D. Min.)--Erskine Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 200-204).

Project (D. Miss.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1984. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 372-383).

Project (D. Min.)--Iliff School of Theology, 2006. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-166).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, 1979. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-126).

Project (D. Min.)--Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, 1989. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 152).