Thesis (Ph.D.)--Baylor University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 410-428).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [117]-126).

Thesis (Th. D.)--Grace Theological Seminariey, 1966. / Bibliography: leaves 263-280

The purpose of this play is to dramatize the charismatic powers of an evangelist, Brother R.T. Bumpass, over his family and his followers. Faced with a challenge from his daughter, Martie, Brother Bumpass manages through a questionable miracle to prove to her that his way offers the only hope and salvation for her life.

The study investigates the origins and development of Pentecostalism in Ghana with special reference to the Christ Apostolic Church, the Church of Pentecost, and the International Central Gospel Church. The theological section explores the continuity and discontinuity between the movement's conception of salvation and the primal concept of salvation. Part A looks at the Akan cosmology, the Akan concept of salvation, and the political, economic and social history of the Gold Coast/Ghana. It also examines some twentieth century Christian renewal movements in Ghana. Part B probes into the historical development of Ghanaian Pentecostalism and the Life and Faith of the movement, using the Christ Apostolic Church, the Church of Pentecost, and the International Central Gospel Church as case studies. Part C examines the Ghanaian Pentecostal soteriology using the Prayer Camps as a case study. The author concludes that the search of the Pentecostals for salvation or abundant life, manifests a continuity with the Akan traditional religious aspirations: a search for Salvation in which health, prosperity, dignity, fertility, security, vitality, and equilibrium within the cosmos are dominant. It also manifests a radical discontinuity in its hostile stand against all traditional forms of supernatural succour. Aspect of the discontinuity between the two religious expressions is Pentecostalism's concern for the paradise beyond. A related interest in this study is the investigation of the influence of socioeconomic factors on the eschatological presuppositions and the evangelistic ethos of the Pentecostal churches. The evidence from the Ghanaian context has led us to the conclusion that the materials presented in this study do not corroborate the thesis that the expectation of the parousia declines in the older Pentecostal denominations as their economic circumstances improve. Our findings indicate that though the neopentecostals believe in the parousia, this has not featured prominently in their kerygma. This, we propose, is due to their avowed concern to address the existential issues facing Ghanaians. The evidence indicates that the Prosperity or Abundant Life Gospel as espoused by the neo-pentecostals, is an attempt to appropriate the biblical message of salvation to suit the contemporary socio-economic and religious experience of Ghanaians.

No description available.

Recently secularization has been reinterpreted, by Vattimo, as that which metamorphoses religion in order to make it possible for the day and age one lives in. In this thesis, I argue that New Religious Movements (NRM) represent a secularization of religion in the sense that they reinterpret the “text” and adjust it to the needs of the adherents of that particular movement. Since the Enlightenment, secularism has been understood as that which is not religious. Separation of church and state took place at times peacefully and at times violently. An example of the latter is the Soviet Union where secularization was imposed upon the people regardless of their religious beliefs. While the early Soviet state was at war with the Orthodox Church, a NRM—Pentecostalism—has thrived and spread like fire across the Soviet nations. My research question is: How did the Pentecostal movement succeed in establishing itself in the Soviet Union, given the hostile environment where the state tried to secularize the society? To answer this question I look at: (i) the Pentecostal movement’s establishment in the Soviet Union, and (ii) the sociopolitical and cultural elements that provided the fertile ground for the movement. In order to situate this event within the historical times, namely late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries’ understandings of religion and secularization, I offer a literature review of secularization theory as understood by Weber, Durkheim, Berger, and Vattimo among others. I analyze various social events throughout the history of Christianity in Russia in order to understand that which prepared the ground for this religious movement. I give a comprehensive analysis of Pentecostalism in the Soviet Union by analyzing primary sources from the movement’s view of themselves as well as the Soviet view of the Pentecostals in particular and religion in general. Lastly, I show how Pentecostalism was a form of secularization and how, in fact, the Soviets and the Pentecostals were working towards the same goal—secularism, only through different means. / Graduate / 2018-04-20 / 0322 / 0344 / 0724 / scolnicalex@hotmail.com

Since the late 1880s, Zambia has been engaged in a repeated series of encounters with Christian renewals. The arrival of Pentecostalism will be viewed as the palpable product of this intensely creative process. Zambian Pentecostalism emerged in continuity with the fruit of European Christian missionary enterprise, but its more contemporary version evolved in spontaneous response to the rise and ministry of influential local Zambian leaders such as Joel Chidzakazi Phiri, prophetess Alice Lenshina, evangelist Dr. Nevers Sekwila Mumba, Winston Broomes, and Jack and Winsome Muggleton. The activities of these key figures led to the formation and prominence of three main church streams across Zambia: Prophetic and Pentecostal-type Pentecostalism, Classical Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism. The brand of Pentecostalism that emerged in Zambia in the 1940s has been influenced by several theological, cultural, political and social influences. One noticeable feature of Zambian PentecostalCharismatic Churches has been their change in character across the decades from holiness and evangelistic traditions of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s to the faith and prosperity ministry of the 2010s. Pentecostal-Charismatic has become engaged in the public sphere by the early 1990s. A further development since the 2000s has been the prominence of the prophetic and apostolic, which is the combination of teaching mainly from the USA and various strands of previous ministries with an emphasis on miracles, deliverance, prosperity and prophecy.

Thesis (doctoral)--University of Birmingham, 1981. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 324-363).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Concordia Theological Seminary, 1979. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 256-275).