Debates concerning how churches in the developing world are best resourced in terms of their funding base and the implications of this for other aspects of church life have been conducted for over 150 years. The solutions offered have ranged from the Three-Self theory, with its advocacy of local self-support, to wholesale financial support from abroad, and in between a combination of those methods in a variety of configurations. This thesis focuses on the recent experiences of evangelical Christians in a southern Mozambican context, paying particular attention to three case studies: the Igreja Evangelica Arca da Salvação; the Ministério Centro de Louvor; and the Igreja Reformada em Moçambique. It asks why so many churches in Mozambique are seemingly locked into a dynamic of economic dependency on donors from abroad, but also why it is that in that shared and impoverished national context some churches are attempting, with some success, to resource their own activities. Using accounts and reflections obtained first-hand from Mozambican Christians, the thesis suggests that, alongside important factors such as the historical circumstances surrounding the emergence of each church group or denomination, the vision and agency of leaders in each local congregation are also fundamental to the resourcefulness of the members and the developmental trajectory of the church. In the context of self-governance, the role of such leadership is highlighted as crucial to the emergence of both self-funding and self-propagation. As well as contributing to the debate concerning the resourcing of churches in the developing world, this thesis addresses social theory that is concerned with how and why individuals invest their available resources in the religious communities of which they are part. It also contributes to the study of independent churches in southern Africa, concerning their potency for independent economic development. Finally, this thesis argues that, for the purposes of avoiding the cultivation of unhealthy dependency in national churches, international mission societies and para-church organizations in developed nations would do well to analyse the dynamics of which they are part. Where partnerships consist largely of sponsorship, it is argued, the risk of ongoing unhealthy dependency is high.

This edition and translation of some of the mystical discourse of the eighth-century Nestorian monk John of Dalyatha is an attempt to fill part of the gap that exists in our knowledge of Syrian Christian mysticism.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2006. / Page [57] blank/missing. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [58]-63).

Within the context of contemporary politics, Christian, Muslim and Liberal traditions have been, in many instances, at odds with each other regarding how humankind‘s social political future should be ordered. Such a conflicting condition has been aggravated by the global circulation of democratic ideals, which has significantly disseminated Western liberal values and made those ideals an almost universal desirable social commodity. In support of this argument, one can observe the unprecedented and controversial assumption that liberal democracy has become the ultimate form of political governance. It is in the context of these end-times liberal aspirations, whether self desired or imposed through external pressure, that some competing and conflicting elements are introduced into the political landscape of Christian and Muslim groups. By presenting itself as the universal and final solution for humanity‘s future, liberalism appears to create uneasiness among religious people who, indeed, see its secular and religious-privatizing tendencies as a secular eschatological competitor. Despite this perceived end-times conflict, there may be hope for a constructive dialogue among these groups.

This dissertation addresses the problem of whether the Gospel of Matthew reflects a Jewish Christian or gentile Christian stance within the early church. A study of the principal theories of the evolution of the early church provides the background against which the terms "Jewish Christian" and "gentile Christian" may be understood. The dissertation examines the bases on which Matthew has been classified as either Jewish Christian or gentile Christian. This previous work on Matthew is found to be unsatisfactory because of the lack of adequate criteria for classifying Matthew. A study of Acts and the letters of Paul reveals that the practice or rejection of Jewish dietary purity was a cause of division in the early church, and thus constitutes a suitable criterion for distinguishing between Jewish and gentile Christianity. Examination of Mt 15:1-20 shows that Matthew does not accept Jewish dietary purity as a part of God's will. Matthew thus reflects a gentile Christian position.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 1988. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-150).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 351-358).

Thesis (MA(Ancient languages and cultural study))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-109).

Thesis (M.Phil.) - University of St Andrews, August 2007.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2006. / Page [57] blank/missing. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [58]-63).