M. Tech. Drama / The issue of retention of membership in many Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria has been a matter of grave concern to both the Church hierarchy and the Christian community. The need to discover new ways of doing Church in order to retain members therefore cannot be over emphasised. Creativity in the way Church services are conducted is therefore essential. The use of theatrical and dramatic embellishments in the teaching of the stories of the Bible is expected to bring about sustainable growth in and, perhaps, enthusiasm for Christian worship. Therefore, it is imperative that enactments which make such messages and moments unforgettable at ecclesiastical gatherings should be explored. Many good intentioned and spiritually gifted pastors tend to lose members to more creative ones. With membership shrinking in some major denominations, many churches closing their doors, and others failing to attract younger members, a wake-up call is needed. The stories of the Bible are believed to have morals and spiritual messages that are easy to understand. Certainly the biblical message is as pertinent today as it was hundreds of years ago. This study seeks to support the assumption that theatre is one of the timely tools that can be used to proclaim the timeless truth of the scriptures. It is assumed that while participants may forget some things said in a verbalised sermon, the same sermon might be remembered if it is presented with the embellishments of scenery, music, dance, lighting, costume, dialogue and other forms bring.

John Donne was indisputably the foremost English preacher of his day. Many studies have focussed on his instructional methods; fewer have concentrated on how he tries to move his hearers. Donne especially liked preaching on the psalms. Since Christian antiquity, the seven psalms known as the penitential psalms have enjoyed a privileged place in church worship. They are central to the sacrament of penance. By Donne's time, changes in the Church of England's sacramental theology had all but eliminated the practice of penance. Nevertheless, Donne considers penance or, as it had become known, repentance, to be a crucial part of believers' lives. With his sermons on the penitential psalms Donne contributes to the vast body of literature surrounding the sacrament of penance, but his contribution is unique. He thinks that since the second person of the Trinity is identified with the Word of God, the institution of preaching God's Word is incarnational. In the sacraments, the priest ushers in the Body of Christ; in the sermon, Donne believes, the preacher's role is similar. For Donne, sermonizing is sacramental in effect. In his sermons he attempts to bring the real presence of God to his listeners. Moreover, his sermons display a "sacramental mimesis": they enact their subject matter by their very words and try to effect change in the listeners as the words are uttered. Further, Donne thinks that since God established all the ordinances of the church, none of them should be ignored. Therefore, Donne's twenty-one sermons on the penitential psalms reveal a preacher who is on the one hand a conservative churchman and on the other a startlingly innovative preacher.

This study uncovers the underpinnings of a Malagasy Lutheran oral theology of homiletics. Using original sermons collected in the field from a cross section of Lutheran preachers and places in Madagascar this study is anchored in contextual materials. To the close readings of these materials the author brings anthropological, textual and Biblical exegetical methodologies for their analysis. Making the distinction between oral and literate composition and cultures, using the theories of Werner Kelber, Walter Ong, Eric Havelock, et al., the author demonstrates the oral structure of the socio-intellectual milieu of Malagasy society. In order to display this mindset in Malagasy theological thinking, this study sets the Malagasy exegesis of the Longer Ending of Mark’s Gospel against the horizon of Kebler’s theory regarding the written gospel as a “parable of absence” in the main body of the Gospel of Mark. This study makes manifest the Malagasy theology of presence, an oral theology. Framing his research with the Fifohazana (Revival) movement, the author briefly surveys the history of Christian missions in Madagascar. This history serves to demonstrate Western missionary literate culture and theology entering into dialogue with the oral culture of Madagascar and the subsequent indigenization of Christianity in the Fifohazana movement. This Fifohazana serves as a paradigm of the Malagasy homiletic and oral theology. Key leading figures of this movement, Rainisoalambo and Volahavana Germaine (Nenilava) are discussed. Extensive appendices of original Malgasy material, while not forming part of the body of the thesis, are provided for reference. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

This study investigated the pragmatics of codeswitching from FuSHa Arabic, the high variety of Arabic (FA), to Aammiyyah Arabic, the low variety or vernacular (AmA), in the most formal type of discourse, namely religious-oriented discourse.The study posited the following five hypotheses:1) CS occurs with considerable frequency in religious discourse; 2) these switches are communicatively purposeful; 3) frequency of CS is related to the linguistic make-up of the audience addressed, 4) to the AmA of the speaker, and 5) to the section of the discourse delivered.To carry out the investigation, the researcher analyzed 18 audio and videotapes of religious discourse, delivered by 13 Arabic religious scholars from different Arab countries. Ten of these tapes were used exclusively to show that CS occurs in religious discourse. The other eight tapes were used to investigate the other hypotheses. The eight tapes involved presentations by three of the most famous religious scholars (from Egypt, Kuwait, and Yemen) delivered 1) within their home countries and 2) outside their home countries.Three of the five hypotheses were supported. It was found that: CS from FA to AmA occurred in religious discourse with considerable frequency; these switches served pragmatic purposes; and the frequency of the switches higher in the question/answer sections than in the lecture sections.Analysis showed that codeswitches fell into three categories: iconic/rhetorical, structural, and other. The switches served numerous communicative functions, some of which resemble the functions found in CS in conversational discourse.One finding was the relationship between the content of the message and the attitude of the speaker toward or its source. Generally, what the speakers perceived as [+positive] was expressed by the H code, and whatever they perceived as [-positive] was expressed by the L code. Scrutiny of this exploitation of the two codes indicated that FA tended to be utilized as a means of upgrading, whereas AmA was used as a means of downgrading. / Department of English

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 333-346).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Abilene Christian University, 1990. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-167).

Thesis (Ph. D. in Religion)--Vanderbilt University, Dec. 2005. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 260-274)

Thesis (D. Min.)--Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 2009. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 158-167).

Thesis (PhD(Praktiese Teologie))--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 277-297).