Thesis (M.A.(Th.))--Acadia University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Dalit Christian Theology emerged as a counter theological movement in India in the 1980s. As a theology ‘of the Dalits, by the Dalits, for the Dalits’, Dalit Christian theology sought to counter prevalent trends in Indian Christian theology which had proved inadequate to reflect the actual experience of the majority of Christians in India. The emergence of Dalit Christian theology as a contextual liberation theology thus reflects a polarising shift in theological discourse within India. This thesis argues, however, that the theology of M.M. Thomas, a leading non-Dalit Indian Christian theologian of the twentieth Century, offered significant theological signposts for the emergence and development of Dalit Christian theology. While it is clear that he did not, nor could not, construct a Dalit theology, this thesis argues that Thomas’s theological reflections in the midst of a rapidly changing and pluralistic religio-secular Indian context brought to the fore of theological debate essential questions relating to the concept of salvation, humanisation and justice relevant to the emergence of Dalit Christian theology. Seeking to relate Christology to the Indian context dynamically, M.M. Thomas sought a theology which could be ‘challengingly relevant’ to the people of India in the post-Independent search for a just and equal society. In order to substantiate the thesis, this study examines the reflections of two first generation Dalit Christian theologians, Bishop M. Azariah and Bishop V. Devasahayam. From within a framework of methodological exclusivism, both theologians appear to reject the theological contribution of M.M. Thomas, regarding him an Indian Christian theologian with little relevance to the Dalit theological quest. Closer textual examination, however, reveals that the theological contribution of M.M. Thomas is discernable within emerging Dalit theological discourse. This thesis further investigates the relevance of M.M. Thomas’s theological contribution for Dalit Christian theology today through the critical assessment of twelve second generation Dalit theologians studying at United Theological College, Bangalore. These voices assess the rise of Dalit Christian theology, and examine the relevance of Thomas’s thoughts for contemporary Dalit discourse.

<p> According to Craig Keener there are hundreds of millions of people around the world who believe that they have experienced or witnessed a healing miracle. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these miracles (Special Divine Action) occur in the third world and lack medical and scientific documentation. However, in Craig Keener&rsquo;s text <i>Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts</i> (2011), he details over one hundred modern medical miracles which have documentation from American doctors and scientists. In addition to Keener, the Vatican&rsquo;s <i>Medica Consulta</i> has also catalogued seventy cases of modern medical miracles originating from the shrine at Lourdes France which meet the Vatican&rsquo;s rigid documentation criteria. Finally, the Renewal linked <i>Global Medical Research Institute </i> (GMRI) has begun an extensive study to verify and document claims of personal medical miracles. Thus, there is strong scientific evidence for the occurrence of modern miracles. </p><p> While proving the occurrence of modern miracles is foundational in the development of a Renewal apologetic, the theological implications and meanings of the miraculous are the larger questions according to Polkinghorne, Richard Swinburne and others. What is ultimately needed in the development of a Renewal apologetic, is a comprehensive theology of the miraculous, which places modern miracles within the larger history of God&rsquo;s interaction with his creation, as a means for the expansion of his kingdom. This will be the focus of the second part of this paper, as modern miracles are shown to be an integral part of the Renewal and expansion of the Kingdom of God; and ultimately the development of a Renewal Apologetic.</p><p>

Since the 1990s, the religious diversity of United States universities has increased, with growing numbers of students, faculty, and staff who are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Humanist. To support these demographics, university chaplaincies have been developing beyond their Christian and Jewish compositions to include chaplains and programs for these traditions. Through interviews with such chaplains, this project thesis examines how these chaplaincies developed, the preparation the chaplains needed, their responsibilities, and the current challenges and future prospects of these programs. It provides advice for university leaders about how and why to develop their spiritual life programs to support today’s religious diversity. / 2023-06-03T00:00:00Z

<p>A congregation is as strong as its mission and vision. The Canadian evangelical church is in the process of considering its effectiveness particularly in terms of it missionality. This question has caused MGT Family Church leadership to step outside its current traditions and praxis to consider the necessary elements for a biblical and engaging church. The problem of this research project was to identify a model of culture change that would serve church leadership as they sought to implement congregational renewal.</p> <p>This five-year project began with the articulation of ecclesiological considerations and was closely followed by a study concerning the missional expectations of the local church. The role of the local church has been synthesized into three values as expressed in corporate church activity and in the lives of church members and known by the acronym 'SAM.' (Spiritual Formation, Authentic/Accountable Relationships and Missional Activity)</p> <p>The scriptures speak of the expectation of spiritual growth and maturity in terms of one's relationship with God. Church leadership must endeavor to establish a church that facilitates spiritual formation in the lives of the congregation irrespective of where each person is in their spiritual journey.</p> <p>Second, a believer grows when he or she is in relationship with another person or a group of people. The church is a catalyst for the development of small communities that regularly meet together for mutual support and spiritual growth. Additionally, a believer is missionally effective when he or she is in relationship with a seeker.</p> <p>Third, the Kingdom of God grows when believers are missionally engaged. Corporate congregational activities must be conducive to missionality and supporting instruction for the individual must be available.</p> <p>Culture change implementation is largely the responsibility of church leadership. Today's pastor must be equipped to lead his or her congregation in the direction of Kingdom effectiveness. The way in which he or she chooses to lead will determine the effectiveness of the proposed culture change.</p> <p>Portico, formerly MGT Family Church, a Pentecostal church in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada has been the subject of a culture change during the period from 2000 to 2005. The leadership team consisted of men and women who were cognizant of the church's history and its successes and failures, its strengths and its weaknesses. Over the period of two years church leaders conducted an intense study to determine the nature and extent of a proposed culture change. This was followed by the implementation of measured changes between 2000 and 2004. In early 2005 the culture change was fully and forcefully implemented with Sunday services totally dedicated to Revolution Sunday, a full articulation of the new church culture.</p> <p>In early 2006 the author conducted a survey among Portico congregants. Seventy-nine people responded and the results were tabulated through the use of SPSS version 8.0 data management system. Participants volunteered their responses concerning the church culture change.</p> <p>Research shows that organizational culture renewal is best facilitated through an informed and carefully designed process which is adjusted to meet new challenges over the course of time. As local church leadership teams begin to consider the potential of a renewed church culture and grapple with the associated challenges the Canadian Pentecostal church will increase in its missional effectiveness.</p> / Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, 1993. / Includes bibliographies.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, 1993. / Includes bibliographies.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, 1993. / Includes bibliographies.

This thesis uses insights from a modern theory of communication, Relevance Theory, to examine the function of certain particles - in particular the conjunction hina - in Koine Greek. This particle has been regarded from the time of Classical Greek as an introducer of purpose clauses and so has been thought to have the lexical meaning of ‘in order that.’ More recently, however, scholars have recognised that in the New Testament at least, no more than 60% of the uses of hina merit such a translation, with a considerable number of independent clauses being introduced by this particle also. Apart from the New Testament it is the case that pagan writers of Koine used this particle to introduce a wider range of clauses than merely those with a telic relationship to the main clause of the sentence. This is particularly noticeable in the Discourses of Epictetus, a philosopher who taught in the latter half of the first century of the Christian era. In addition, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a notable critic of literary style and the historian Polybius, both writing within the Koine period used hina to introduce indirect commands and noun clauses as well as purpose clauses. The frequency of such uses (approximately 10% of all the instances of this particle) in their writings is considerably less than that of Epictetus, but those uses are nevertheless present in their works. Since iota-nu-alpha was used for this wider range of clauses by pagan, non-Jewish authors, some of whom spoke Greek as their first language, it seems extremely implausible to attribute such use to the incompetence of the implied authors of the New Testament, or ‘Semitic interference’. Since the many instances of non-telic hina in the New Testament are identified with reference to the context in which they occur, the telic instances should also be deduced from such context. I claim that the function of this particle is not to introduce a purpose clause nor does it have a fixed lexical meaning of ‘in order that’, but rather that it alerts the reader to expect an interpretation of the thought of the speaker or implied author. Of course in many instances a clause introduced by hina will be a purpose clause, but this is inferred from context rather than solely from the presence of this particle. This thesis proposes a unified account of the function of hina which fits the developing pattern of the language and relates it to the particle 'hina', and provides a theoretical basis for its use as an indicator of speaker or subject’s thought, thus enabling a reader to re-examine biblical texts whose interpretation has been problematic to date.

<p>Eucharistic sacrifice is both a doctrine of the church and a sacramental practice. Doctrinally, it explains in what manner the sacrament is a sacrifice, or at least its sacrificial dimension; liturgically, it refers to the offering that is made in the church's celebration of the eucharist, that is, who and what is offered and by whom. Since the Reformation, Catholics and Protestants have been divided over of eucharistic sacrifice, and for most of its history after the death of the Wesleys, Methodism somewhat uncritically followed in the Protestant tradition. Now, after four decades of productive ecumenical dialogue, Catholics and Methodists seek to discern the points of convergence and divergence between them on this controversial doctrine. In short, where do Catholics and Methodists agree and disagree on eucharistic sacrifice? This dissertation is a work of systematic theology that draws from the insights of several related fields: liturgical theology, historical theology, sacramental theology, ecclesiology, and ecumenism. An investigation into what Catholics and Methodists have shared with each other to date in ecumenical dialogue serves to elucidate the state of affairs between the two churches. The traditioning voices of Thomas Aquinas and John Wesley provide instances of detailed teaching on eucharistic sacrifice. Aquinas' theology has continued to inform Catholic teaching, while Wesley's was largely forgotten in nineteenth century Methodism. His theology of eucharistic sacrifice anticipates significantly the convergence that the liturgical and ecumenical movements have achieved on this topic through their attention to the theology of the early church, yet only a handful of contemporary Methodist theologians have explored Wesley's theology of eucharistic sacrifice in detail, and fewer still from an ecumenical perspective. In recent decades, Catholic and Methodist churches have circulated official teaching on eucharistic sacrifice and made significant revisions to their eucharistic liturgies. An analysis of these texts demonstrates how each church currently articulates its doctrine of eucharistic sacrifice and celebrates it sacramentally. The analysis also allows for an assessment of the current degree of convergence between the two churches on eucharistic sacrifice. The conclusion is that, first, Methodism has begun to recover a strong doctrine of eucharistic sacrifice, and greater attention to its Wesleyan heritage can only strengthen it further. Second, the two churches share more on eucharistic sacrifice than is frequently appreciated; indeed, Methodism should recognize in Catholicism a doctrine and a liturgy with which it can fully agree. Third, eucharistic sacrifice necessitates a clearly-formulated ecclesiology, which is a topic in the dialogues where Catholics can continue to prompt Methodists for deeper reflection. Convergence on eucharistic sacrifice, if recognized by both churches, would constitute a significant step forward on the path to full communion between them.</p> / Dissertation