Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2001. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-161).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2001. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-161).

The late seventeenth century was a critical and fruitful period for the Particular Baptists of England. Severely persecuted following the Restoration, toleration in 1689 brought its own perils. Particular Baptists were fortunate in having several strong leaders, especially the London trio of Hanserd Knollys, William Kiffin, and Benjamin Keach. Such a small and severely persecuted group as the Baptists could afford little time for academic pursuits, thus of necessity most of their theology was practical in nature. Benjamin Keach (1640-1704) was the most outstanding practical theologian among the English Particular Baptists of the late seventeenth century. This dissertation is a study of Keach, in particular his writings on public worship and practical theology. Although Keach was a prolific author, he has been almost completely neglected by scholars. After a biographical sketch of Keach, this study considers his writings on public worship and practical theology. In the area of worship, Keach made two outstanding contributions: First, he was the most vocal apologist for Baptist views on Baptism of his period. Secondly, and more importantly, his hymn writing and defense of hymn singing broke new ground, not just for Baptists, but for English Protestantism, in general. In addition to his contributions in these areas, he also dealt with the laying on of hands and the sabbath day worship controversy. Keach's contributions to practical theology fall into two main groups: his writings that concern religious education and those that deal with polity. In addition to these, Keach's vigorous advocacy of a high Calvinist soteriology are also considered under the rubric of practical theology. Keach's most important (although not his most positive) contribution in this area were his soteriological writings. Although well within the bounds of orthodoxy, some of the tendencies in Keach's soteriology were taken up by the following generation of Baptist leaders and developed into a stultifying hyper-Calvinism that handicapped Baptist evangelism and missions. In the conclusion, Keach's contributions to a theory of practical theology are considered.

Recent trends in Baptist worship have revealed an interest in Liturgical forms and some movement toward more thoughtful worship content and order in what has historically been a free church worship tradition. The fields of liturgical theology and liturgical anthropology have produced research that indicates that there is validity to this interest and that the order of worship elements can be instructive as is the content of worship. When both are oriented around the gospel's shape and truth (e.g., the gospel of the glory of Christ), the worshiper is pointed to Christ who is the object of faith and the facilitator of spiritual formation through the Holy Spirit. The result is a worshiper who becomes like the one he holds in view in worship. This survey of representative churches in North American Baptist history (ca. 1650-1910) reveals that there has always been some evidence regarding the gospel's presence in Baptist worship. This has not always been due to deliberate thought and planning, but because the gospel controls its forms. Where a church has held the gospel, its worship has reflected that conviction. Where the gospel has been lost, worship is at least reflective of that, if not partially the precipitator. These churches reflect varying degrees of gospel-content and form. The historical trend demonstrates that overall, Baptists have held the gospel, often in the face of stiff opposition. This grip on grace has been reflected consistently in their worship and likely is at least one of the reasons that they have continued to grow. Their growth is at least partially, in direct correlation to their worshiping in light of the cross. They have not just sung of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but they have engaged it in corporate worship and reflected the effects of this encounter with Christlikeness in their daily lives of worship.

ABSTRACT FAR AND NEAR: CHRISTIAN WORSHIP OF THE TRANSCENDENT AND IMMANENT GOD OF WONDERS Charles Thomas Lewis, Jr., Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015 Chair: Dr. Bruce A. Ware "Far and Near: Christian Worship of the Transcendent and Immanent God of Wonders" examines the rhythm of transcendence then immanence represented in divine worship encounters and significant prayers recorded in Scripture. With the objective of determining how transcendence and immanence shapes modern worship services in Southern Baptist churches, this dissertation also documents the goals, values, and objectives that may influence how worship pastors in Southern Baptist churches select and sequence elements to be included in their corporate worship services. Chapter 1 establishes the propensity of the modern church to bypass the transcendence of God while rushing to embrace God's immanence. Chapter 2 discusses the age of immanence and individualism--two modern mindsets permeating religious thinking and corporate worship of many Christians in modern times. This chapter also discusses the residual effects of the loss of focus on God's transcendence--the centralization of man coupled with the displacement of God from his rightful place of centrality in worship. Using the findings of the Worship Design Project 2014, chapter 3 is an empirical documentation of worship praxis and design by worship pastors in the most attended Southern Baptist churches in the United States. Chapter 4 discusses the biblical historical grounding of transcendence including God's transcendent holiness, aseity, sovereignty, constancy, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and timeless eternality. Chapter 5 considers how God's immanent attributes are rooted in and flow from his transcendent characteristics. Chapter 6 is a Christological reflection on how Jesus Christ--God immanently with us--remains transcendent in relationship to his creation and his church. Chapter 7, the central focus of this dissertation, uses biblical data to demonstrate the rhythm of transcendence then immanence represented in divine worship encounters and prayer. Chapter 8 addresses the implications of properly balanced and ordered transcendence and immanence for modern worship service planning and design in the free church tradition. The thesis advanced in this dissertation is that, in divine-human encounters, the Bible demonstrates a repeated pattern of conceptualizing and understanding God in his transcendent otherness both prior to his immanence and as the framework within which his immanence can only be rightly understood and experienced.

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-179).