Thesis (D.S.M.)--Northland Baptist Bible College, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-285).

Thesis (D.S.M.)--Northland Baptist Bible College, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-285).

Thesis (D.S.M.)--Northland Baptist Bible College, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-285).

A useful model of spiritual development in the public educative care of children must: specify the meaning and nature of spirituality; clarify its relationship to an underlying ontology; identify in what sense spirituality is developmental; be consistent with a justifiable paradigm of human development; explain the role and status of such spiritual development with a secular system of educative care; and specify practical implications flowing from these matters. Using narrative criticism within an evangelical framework, the biblical descriptions of spirituality and childhood were critically examined as a basis for such a model. Biblical spirituality was developmental and was identified with encounters, usually naturally mediated, between human spirits and God's Spirit, and spirits which alienate from God's Spirit. All children, without qualification of belief, community, rite or age, were identified as spirits who share a special relationship with God's Spirit both ontologically and experientially. Biblical childhood was not defined chronologically but functionally by inability to take responsibility for one's own spiritual life because of openness to God's and other spirits. Principles of 'magician systems' in Dynamic Systems Theory parallel phenomena of human development and those commonly designated as spiritual. Consequently, a dynamic model of spiritual development is proposed which is consonant with biblical teaching and grounded in an established scientific paradigm. This indicates that spirituality is an inescapable aspect of any educative care setting or system and need not be introduced as though children lack it. Spiritually salient aspects of educative care will lead children to spiritual encounters which are derivative of a positive life affirming principle or fundamentally destructive and alienating. These aspects encompass the spiritual ontology of the setting, the children, the personnel, the physical environment, the nature and quality of relationships, the curriculum, religious activities, the nurture provided, and the wider context, all of which are of spiritual moment.

Very little is known in the UK about how parental church-based ministry impacts the lives of their children. Clergy children themselves have rarely, if ever, been afforded the opportunity to formally express their views and opinions on this crucial aspect of their lives, to the extent that they have been described as a ‘lost voice’ in the Church. This thesis seeks to fill this gap in our knowledge with a combination of extensive literature reviews, data obtained from a Pilot Study using the social network system Facebook, and semi-structured interviews with six adult clergy children from different denominational backgrounds who are now ministers in their own right, and by so doing help raise their profile in the Christian community. Taken together, the data confirms that the church-based ministry of clergy parents does impact their children’s lives and that if responses are any indication, other clergy children too, are able to make their views and insights known if asked. In other words, their voices need no longer be “lost,” but can be heard. In so doing they offer a fresh perspective on the practice of church-based ministry. Based on these findings the thesis proceeds to outline the theological and practical implications for the practice of ministry with a call to affirm the importance of a person’s story in the task of theological reflection; to recognise the contribution of children’s insights to faith and practice, and the values on which pastoral care should be based as outlined by the participants themselves. It concludes by proposing that further research is required in order to ascertain the full extent on how church-based ministry impacts the lives of clergy children, a topic which in the UK still remains a largely unexplored aspect of Church life and practice.

I uppsatsen undersöks barns konstruktion av det teologiska språket med avseende på försoning som begrepp. Barnens förståelse av försoning sätts i kritisk relation till Miroslav Volfs förståelse av försoning och omfamning (embrace). Därigenom framträder att barnen utvecklar försoningsbegreppet genom att det överträder vår uppfattning om tid och rum. Barnen konstruerar det teologiska språket utifrån en materialitet som består av egna erfarenheter av kroppslig (o)försoning. / In this essay I study how children construct their theological language in relation to the topic of reconciliation. The children's voices are put in critical dialog with the Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf’s notion of reconciliation in relation to embrace. The children’s perception of reconciliation develop and expand the theological concept of reconciliation. Seemingly, children's theological language describe reconciliation as an act that transcends time and space. Children construct their theological language through a materiality based on their own corporeal experiences of conflict and reconciliation.