<p> The purpose for writing <i>Evaluating a Spiritual Formation Curriculum for Ethiopian Evangelical Church Leaders</i> is to explore the impact of the Sendafa spiritual formation seminar on the spiritual health of Ethiopian evangelical church leaders and assess the reproducibility of the principles. </p><p> This research is based on the theological framework that disciples of Jesus Christ are spiritually formed through knowing and abiding in Him, which was supported by the literature. </p><p> The research employed a mixed methodology that utilized a quantitative/qualitative instrument and follow-up interviews to verify the hypotheses of the study. </p><p> Results from the Spiritual Health Assessment Questionnaire (SHAQ) and the Spiritual Development Interviews (SDI) verified the study's two hypotheses. The results demonstrated improvement in the spiritual health of the participants in the sample pool of Ethiopian evangelical church leaders and evidence of either implementing the Sendafa formation principles in others or reproducing the Sendafa formation curriculum for others. </p><p> Further study should include equipping for life change, the practice of mentoring, and leadership development. It is recommended that future efforts be developed by nationals with only assistance from outsiders. Additionally, the production of a booklet covering the Sendafa formation principles is recommended for distribution among the churches of Ethiopia.</p>

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale University Divinity School, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Div.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 1997. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-123).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale University Divinity School, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D.Min.)--Regent University, 2007. / (UMI)AAI3293096. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-12, Section: A, page: 5103.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale University Divinity School, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references.

ix, 325 p. / This dissertation examines the development of skeptical views concerning causation from the medieval to the early modern period. While causal skepticism is often overlooked by intellectual historians, I argue that, in spite of its typical motivation as a religious response to shibboleths of ancient philosophy that stood askance from the dogmas of Abrahamic theology, causal skepticism was the greatest intellectual development of post-antiquity and ultimately culminated into modern Science. The first chapter examines Hume's famous analysis of causation and serves as a foil for the prior history of causal skepticism addressed in the subsequent chapters. The second chapter addresses the dispute over causation in medieval Islamic philosophy. I argue that virtually the entirety of Hume's analysis was anticipated, and in some cases superseded, by al-Ghazali in the eleventh century. The third chapter examines Averroes' critique of al-Ghazali, as well as the development of Aristotelian causal metaphysics in the Christian West. The fourth chapter concerns the development of the nominalist tradition skeptical attitude towards efficient causal explanation in the aftermath of the anti-Aristotelian condemnations of 1277. The fifth chapter addresses the Cartesian occasionalist tradition and its skeptical stance on secondary causation and the relation between this causal skepticism and central doctrines of Cartesian physics and metaphysics. The sixth and final chapter of my dissertation concerns the collapse of occasionalism and its many offspring. My ultimate thesis is that the hallmarks of both modern philosophy and modern science trace their origin to the failure of occasionalism to resolve its own internal contradictions. / Committee in charge: Dr. Naomi Zack, Chairperson; Dr. Cheney Ryan, Member; Dr. Colin Koopman, Member; Dr. Malcolm Wilson, Outside Member

This dissertation is a study of the work of John Milton, most especially of his late poems, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes. The early poetry, the prose tracts, and Christian Doctrine are considered in their developmental relation to those late poems. The question my study addresses is this: What does Milton mean by obedience? The critical approach used to address the question is as much philosophical-theological as it is literary. My project seeks to understand the shaping role of Milton’s theology on his poetry: that is, to attempt to recreate and understand Milton’s thinking on obedience from Milton’s perspective. To this end, I focus on providing contextualized, attentive readings of key poetic moments. The contexts I provide are those derived from the two great heritages Milton had at his disposal—the Classical and Christian traditions. The poetic moments I attend to are most usually theologically and conceptually difficult moments, moments in which Milton is working out (as much as reflecting on or demonstrating or poeticizing) his key theological concerns, chief among them, obedience. Milton’s concept of obedience is not just an idea developed within given interpretive frameworks, Classical, Christian, and a specific historic context, England in the seventeenth century. It is a strangely practical structure of being intended by Milton to recollect something of the disposition of Adam and Even before the fall. In other words, Miltonic obedience is multifaceted and complex. To address the complexity and nuance of what Milton means by obedience, I suggest that Milton’s idea of obedience may be understood as a concept. The definitional source of Milton’s concept of obedience is the Bible, and various texts of the Classical tradition. The necessary mechanism of the concept is Milton’s idea of right timing, derived from the Greek idea of kairos. The necessary condition of Miltonic obedience is unknowing. With Milton’s concept of obedience fully established, the dissertation concludes by suggesting connections between Milton’s religious imagination and his political engagements. If Milton’s paramount value was obedience, it was so because his paramount concern was liberty, for himself and for his nation.

The purpose of this study was threefold (1) to derive the philosophy of the contemporary Indian sage who was known for the greater part of his life as Sri Ramana Maharshi; (2) to present this philosophy in English an accurately as possible; and (3) to explain it as clearly as possible in terms understandable to those not familiar with the Indian philosophical tradition.

The purpose of this study was to compose a profile of characteristics of a competent elder as a leader of Christian churches/churches of Christ for the year 2010. An essential component of this composition was the identification of issues that elders are likely to face in the 21st century church. A second objective was to identify effective ways in which elders can be prepared to meet the challenges of leading congregations in the beginning of the 21st century. A Delphi Technique was applied in this study since it is a particularly efficient research tool used in building consensus and in forecasting future needs and trends. A group consisting of 10 elders, 10 ministers, 10 faculty members, and 10 writers was assembled to serve as an expert panel. Two rounds of questionnaires were mailed to these individuals. The first round consisted of nine questions that solicited a narrative type response. Qualitative analysis of Round 1 yielded 66 statements that comprised the second questionnaire. The level of agreeability and likelihood of occurrence associated with the response of each panelist to the 66 statements of Round 2 was ascertained using a Likert scale and a probability factor. Consensus was reached on 47 items. Issues identified include: family breakdown, fragmentation of society, pluralism, change, vision/mission, diversity, unity, and spirituality. Characteristics, based on consensus, suggest an elder in the year 2010 should be a team player, seeking to work in harmony with other elders and ministers. The effective elder will display a strong sense of collegiality, characterized by trust, love, respect, camaraderie, and mutual accountability. Elders will need to be carefully and prayerfully chosen with the primary criteria being spiritual qualities, giftedness, and proven leadership abilities. An elder must create and maintain a vital commitment to a clear and widely owned vision for the church and should be competent at keeping the vision lucid, pointing the way, guiding, motivating, challenging, inspiring, instructing, and enabling the congregation to function as a unified organism. Elders in the year 2010 should be committed to spiritual and leadership development in themselves. At the same time, the effective elder should be a mentor and teacher to others, helping to prepare them as servants of Christ. The elder must be a person who models integrity and genuine devotion to Christ thereby encouraging the congregation to be a moral and ethical people.