Thesis (M.Phil.) - University of St Andrews, November 2009.

Proefschrift--Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht. / Bibliography: p. [249]-253.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education in association with Greenwich School of Theology, U.K., 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 388-397).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1988. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-139).

Thesis (PhD(N.T.)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 447-520)

Thesis advisor: Christopher Matthews / Thesis advisor: Matthew Monnig / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

This research discusses the role of the baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit in missions through a specific focus on Ghanaian Pentecostal Churches. Scripture, history, scholarly works, interviews, observations, ecumenical documents, as well as relevant documents of Ghanaian Pentecostal churches were used to study the issue under discussion. In order to achieve the objective for the topic chosen, the research also discusses some of the major factors that led to Pentecostalism in Ghana – i.e. the concern of the indigenes about their worldview not being addressed by the Western missionaries that came to serve in Ghana. In the desire of the then Ghanaian Christians to have their worldview addressed, they resorted first to the Pentecostalism initiated by the African Initiated Churches, and then to the current trend of Pentecostalism in Ghana. The findings reveal that, though one of the factors that has made Pentecostalism so acceptable to Ghanaians is the way it has addressed their worldview; Ghanaian Pentecostal Churches themselves are of the opinion that the role of the Holy Spirit is the major factor. Their argument is that, it takes the role of the Holy Spirit to convict a sinner of his or her sins and incorporate the person into the body of Christ. After this incorporation, the person needs to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit in order to be able to live according to the will of God. Furthermore, it is the Holy Spirit that also empowers believers to work both within and outside the church. This empowerment is manifested through the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to believers – for both their personal edification and the perfection of the church. As believers operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, God works through them in the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill the missio Dei. It was finally revealed that, although the Holy Spirit is the power behind mission, the human factor cannot be forgotten. With this in mind, it was argued that Ghanaian Pentecostal churches have put into place various missional approaches, to help them to effectively participate in the missio Dei. These missional approaches were therefore discussed in the light of the “five marks of mission” (i.e. Evangelism, discipleship, responding to the social needs of people through love, transforming the unjust structures of society and safe guarding the integrity of creation) and Krintzinger et al.’s holistic mission approach (i.e. kerygmatic, diaconal, fellowship and liturgical). / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Science of Religion and Missiology / PhD / Unrestricted

Please read the summary on pp378-383 of this document / Thesis (DD (Systematic Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Dogmatics and Christian Ethics / unrestricted

In On Christian Teaching, Saint Augustine writes, “Just and holy living depends on being a good judge of things.” This brief sentence lucidly articulates the importance that judgment plays in Augustine’s thought. This thesis is the first full-length study of how he understands the distinct role of the Holy Spirit in judgment. I argue that judgment denotes both the discernment of a thing’s nature and evaluation of it; and we become good judges only as we are re-ordered by the love which is, in Augustine’s favourite pneumatological verse, “poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). I analyse this transformative work of the Spirit according to two broad categories: first, the Spirit re-orders our relation to creation principally by uniting us to the Word, the second person of the Trinity, in whom all things are created, and so we are able to discern a thing’s nature and evaluate it according to God’s purposes in creation; and, second, the Spirit re-orders our relation to time, as we patiently endure this troublous life as pilgrims hoping for eternal Sabbath rest; within this eschatological horizon situated in the age between Christ’s first coming and his return, we restrain ourselves from making both unfounded and unnecessary judgments as we defer to God’s final judgement. This thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part, on the “theory” of judgment, I explicate the consistent relation throughout Augustine’s corpus between pneumatology, judgment and ethics (chapter one). I then proceed to trace out his account of how the gift of the Spirit’s love perfects our judgment by re-ordering our relation to creation, and, conversely, how lust distorts it. A right relation to creation turns on taking up our middle place: below God, next to our neighbours, and above nature (chapter two). In the second part, on the “practice” of judgment, I focus first on other-judgment, especially the role of mercy (chapter three), and then in the fourth and final chapter I turn to self-judgment, including a lengthy consideration of the nature and role of conscience (chapter four). For Augustine, then, it is only by the Spirit’s love that we are made good judges, and, simultaneously, it is only when we are good judges that our love conforms to the truth both of God’s good creation and of our in-between age.

This dissertation examines the impact of the filioque on the relationship between the Spirit and the Son, particularly as it pertains to the economy of salvation and the availability of salvation to the unevangelized. More specifically, it argues that rejection of the filioque cannot serve as a means of gaining an independent economy for the Spirit. Chapter 1 presents the thesis and describe the place of both pneumatology and the filioque in contemporary inclusive soteriologies. Chapter 2 surveys the status of the filioque debate in contemporary Western theology as well as the various ways that the filioque is treated by pneumatological inclusivists. Primary attention is given to Clark Pinnock and Amos Yong, who serve as the primary dialogue partners for this dissertation. Chapter 3 examines various Eastern Orthodox theologians, both past and present, and argues that inclusivists have misappropriated Orthodox theology. Specifically, this chapter argues that Orthodoxy has historically viewed the work of the Spirit as inextricably connected with that of the Son in spite of its rejection of the filioque . Chapter 4 addresses the biblical portrayal of taxis in the Trinity whereby the Father gives direction to the works of both the Son and the Spirit. Attention is given to the unity of the trinitarian economy that results from the Father's administration. Chapter 5 argues that pneumatological inclusivists have failed sufficiently to consider significant biblical-theological themes of Scripture and their impact on pneumatology. This is particularly true of eschatology. It further suggests that the pneumatological lens through which some inclusivists interpret Scripture distorts biblical pneumatology. This chapter also offers a brief proposal for understanding pneumatology in light of the Bible's eschatological framework. Chapter 6 summarizes the issues considered in the dissertation and offers some brief closing comments. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.