<p> The context for this qualitative study is the church leadership in New England that is interested in revival. The hypothesis is the following: New England church leaders believe that revival is nurtured through practicing love, demonstrated by being secure in God's love, having mutual servant love, and valuing each other's giftings and calling. The hypothesis was tested by means of grounded theory. Data was triangulated from surveys, interviews, and focus groups of eighty-seven leaders who have ministered in New England. The hypothesis was proven, showing a remarkable consensus that love nurtures and sustains revival.</p>

<p> From the inception of the Reformation, Protestants have championed the doctrine of justification as <i>the</i> foundational core of their creed. In fact, it has often been said, then and now, that the doctrine of justification is <i>articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae</i>&mdash;the article upon which the church stands or falls. Yet, at the start of the twenty-first century there is strong dissent over this core doctrine. In recent years, this topic has attracted vast attention and stirred immense conflict within evangelical circles. Scholars are increasingly at odds as to how to define the doctrine, while questions abound concerning the role it plays in the soteriological, eschatological, and ecclesiological framework of the evangelical faith. At the center of the dispute are two opposing and well-respected evangelical leaders, John Piper and N.T. Wright.</p><p> The purpose of my project is to capture this contemporary debate on justification between John Piper and N.T. Wright&mdash;to aid in understanding the details of their debate in better measure. The primary question I will address is, <i> Are John Piper and N.T. Wright on a collision course, or are they two ships passing in the dark of night?</i> A secondary question will guide us towards an answer, &ldquo;How do two Protestant, evangelical, <i> sola scriptura</i> theologians arrive at such different places in relation to this essential doctrine?&rdquo;</p><p> I will first address how the doctrine of justification has been understood throughout the history of the church, starting with the apostolic fathers, then tracing the doctrine through the medieval church and culminating in the Reformation, as well as the Counter Reformation at the Council of Trent. Thus, this journey will highlight the soteriological views of the patristics, Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Ockham and the nominalists, Luther, Melanchthon, and Calvin. Putting the Piper and Wright debate into historical context is imperative to understanding their dispute. We will also look briefly at what has been termed the <i>new perspective on Paul</i>, a label which has been ascribed to Wright. Finally, we will look at the intricacies of John Piper&rsquo;s and N.T. Wright&rsquo;s doctrines of justification before answering the central question.</p>

<p> Recent accounts of the history of Christian theology tend to neglect material concerning widows in antiquity and their contribution to Christian discipleship. In this dissertation I would like to offer a corrective along the lines of studying the contribution of widows in Jewish and Christian antiquity to the Catholic tradition. In particular, I contend that the Jewish roots of the widows&rsquo; contribution to Christian theology is also overlooked. The idea of the widow as an &ldquo;altar of God,&rdquo; which emerges in early Church literature, requires an understanding of the history of widows and the altar in Jewish and Christian antiquity. </p><p> What can be gleaned from mentions of widows, especially the enrolled widows, in the early Church? Firstly, enrolled widows in the early Church had historical precedents in the Old Testament that are sometimes overlooked by scholars, particularly in the omission of the Old Testament widow Judith. Secondly, the altar in Jewish and early Christian antiquity is significant; the altar has many functions and nuances of meaning, which are essential to understand the motif of the widow as the altar of God. Thirdly, these widows in the early Church offer a challenging Christian <i>ethos</i>, which derives from their good works and from a rootedness in ascetic practices that comprise a whole way of life for Christian discipleship. </p><p> By and large, extant material on the order of widows dwindles after the fourth century A.D. The history of widows in Jewish and Christian antiquity can inform recent endeavors in the Church to revitalize the ancient vocation of widowhood, and that of belonging to an order of widows. This dissertation proposes to trace the trajectory of the contribution of widows in antiquity to Catholic theology. Moreover, by exploring what the early Church meant when it referred to the widow as the &ldquo;altar of God,&rdquo; especially in light of the altar&rsquo;s many functions, I hope to shed light on an ancient and little studied practice in the Church. I will then show how this study of ancient Christian widows can inform two recent endeavors in the United States to renew the order of widows.</p><p>

<p> Carl Bear This study considers the ways in which the complex debates about appropriate Christian funeral practices in late fourth-century Antioch indicated some of the ways in which Christians' ritual practices embodied their theological beliefs and enacted their religious identities. Sources used to study Christian funerals include the homilies of John Chrysostom, the orations of Libanius, the church order known as <i>Apostolic Constitutions </i>, the historiographic and hagiographic work of Theodoret, and archaeological remains. The analysis of the sources utilizes methods of liturgical history that focus on the perspectives and experiences of ordinary worshipers, and attends to the biases and limitations inherent in the historical record. It also places Christian funeral practices in the context of larger questions surrounding religious identity and ritual in Antioch, especially within the Christian cult of the saints and eucharistic liturgies.</p><p> Ordinary Christians and church leaders in fourth-century Antioch had different ideas about how to Christianize their funerals. Criticism from church authorities that Christians' funeral practices were inconsistent with Christian faith in the resurrection were one-sided. Instead, it seems that ordinary Christians had their own ideas about appropriate ways to care for their dead ritually. Especially in the case of mourning and other contested practices, Christians were giving expression to their human emotions of bereavement, loss, and concern for the dead in culturally prescribed ways. Church leaders, such as John Chrysostom., however, desired Christian funeral practices that exhibited fewer cultural influences and that distinctly demonstrated Christian belief in the resurrection in all aspects of the ritual.</p><p>