This thesis brings the fields of reconciliation theology and Liberal Quaker theology into dialogue, and lays the foundation for developing an original Liberal Quaker reconciliation theology. This dialogue focuses specifically on the metaphorical language employed to describe the relationship of interdependence between humans and God, which both traditions hold as integral to their conceptions of human and divine existence. Towards this pursuit, I provide an outline of the forms of reconciliation and Liberal Quaker theology used for the dialogue. This includes two main elements: a definition of the core concepts of each theology, including the main structural elements; and, a model of the human person and their relationship with other humans, including the human person's relationship with God and the ways which these relationships are both broken and healed. This is necessary as both reconciliation and Liberal Quaker theology are diverse traditions, with numerous perspectives on the major concepts and how they are expressed and interpreted. This unique approach develops an original model of reconciliatory interdependence between humans and God that is rooted in both Christological and Universalist Liberal Quaker metaphorical and theological categories and utilises the Liberal Quaker language of God as interdependent Light towards a new theology.

This thesis explores the hypothesis that, in view of some similarities in theology and practice, early Quakers, or proto-Quakers had knowledge of, or direct contact with continental Anabaptists prior to their first documented visit to the Netherlands in 1655. The five main findings of this research are: there is no evidence of contact between proto- Quakers and continental Anabaptists before 1655; there is evidence of much contact between early Quakers and English Baptist congregations in England, but uncertainty exists as to the theology of those Baptist groups; there is no evidence that the first Quaker visitors to the Netherlands had any prior knowledge of Dutch Anabaptist groups; alleged similarities between the writings of the Quaker leader George Fox and Jacob Böhme are coincidental; and it is likely that Fox’s ‘Uncle Pickering’ was not a General Baptist as had previously been proposed. Subsidiary findings of this research are: there is no evidence that Fox’s mother was ‘of the stock of the martyrs’; Margaret Fell was not related to the Maryan martyr Anne Askew; Fox did positively acquire some of his theology from his parish priest Nathanial Stephens; ‘Priest Boys’ was either William Boys, perpetual curate at Goathland, or Roger or Thomas Boys of Lockton.

This thesis is concerned with the question as to how to present the study of religion to students in religious education (RE) in schools that reflects a distinctively religious character but not a confessional one. It recognises that how religion is conceptualised in RE and the search for a distinctive rationale that reflects the subject’s nature and purpose, has been a contested question over the history of the subject in state maintained schools since the Education Act of 1870. More recently, criticism of what has been termed ‘modern liberal RE’ has focused on the claim that, in many instances, the subject has misrepresented religion, by being guilty of essentialism and in denying students opportunities to engage with the ‘truth claims’ of religions. It is within this context that this thesis argues that a nuanced understanding of John Hick’s religious interpretation of religion can positively illuminate these debates by providing a second order explanatory framework for the study of religion in RE.

As its criticisms have revealed, a closer look at the concept of the Real, the thesis of “all experiencing is experiencing-as,” and the criterion of the soteriological transformation have shown some difficulities in John Hick’s pluralistic hypothesis. Focusing on the theory of religious experience contended by Hick, this research explores the Kantian and Wittgensteinian elements of his hypothesis to ease the tension between its metaphysical and epistemological aspects. Since Hick’s hypothesis is based on the doctrines of religions within the Indo-European language group, this research introduces those traditions from outside this group to rethink its criteriology. These two attempts inevitably call for a refined model of Hick’s hypothesis. Both Hick’s hypothesis and the refined model reflect certain understandings of the notion of Religion. Meanwhile, every religious tradition also manifests its various dimensions. This research consequently suggests that the ideal of Religion can be considered in terms of the idea of functional unity and can be taken as the regulative principle to direct any model of religious pluralism, which is subject to be modified when it encounters any “anomalies” of religious phenomena -- this pattern can be further illustrated in light of the Confucian proposition of “the Li is one but its manifestations are many (理一分殊li-yi-fen-shu).”

This thesis embarks upon a thorough investigation into the relationship between genre and interpretation, using the principle of narrative coherence to provide a methodological basis upon which to build. It argues that the attempt to find a single or even simple hybrid genre for Acts is an academic cul-de-sac that is curtailing effective progress, and advocates instead a model of fluid intertextuality that sees the author make use of many different genres. It then goes on to explore these findings in three separate studies, all of which make use of different intertextual and generic frameworks to interpret the text in new ways. The first study makes use of a device seen in Epic and Tragedy, the second makes use of wider systems of characterisation, particularly of divinely elected heroes, and the third looks at the use of comedy in sections of the narrative. Overall, the conclusion of the thesis is that only a change in methodological basis from history and source to narrative and text will allow biblical studies to make substantial progress in the interpretation of the scriptures.

The research presented in this thesis applies Thomas Luckmann’s theory of invisible religion to three aspects of ancient Egyptian culture (festivals, household and personal items, and communication with the dead and with gods). The intention is firstly to address the four key issues that have arisen as a result of previous research into personal religion in ancient Egypt, secondly to determine whether ordinary ancient Egyptians possessed individual religiosity, and thirdly to establish whether the three aspects of ancient Egyptian culture considered can be viewed as examples of invisible religion. With regards to the four key issues, this research concludes: there was a link between individual religiosity and state religion; the intimacy of ordinary ancient Egyptians’ emotions relating to individual religiosity varied; individual religiosity was not a phenomenon of the lower classes; individual religiosity was not an innovation of the New Kingdom. In addition, it is shown that ordinary ancient Egyptians did possess individual religiosity but that each person would have created, maintained, engaged with, and internalised the universe of meaning (as described by Luckmann) to a different extent. Finally, this research concludes that the three aspects of ancient Egyptian culture considered can be viewed as examples of invisible religion.

This thesis argues that a Pentecostal theology of conversion can be best understood in terms of the biblical concept of shalom. The thesis contributes towards a holistic practical-theological model, which presents conversion in terms of the work of, and response to, God’s shalom in three key dimensions: regeneration, identity and destiny. This study responds to two main motivators: (1) an identified lack of an existing Pentecostal theology of conversion. This is a significant gap in the movement’s theology, particularly in the UK where Pentecostalism continues to buck the trend of church decline; and (2) a recognised stereotype of Pentecostal-charismatic conversion experiences in various disciplines according to an “event” motif, despite the field of conversion studies moving towards a more process-oriented, whole-life approach. The aim of the thesis was to identify and critically analyse the conversion experiences and theology of ordinary believers within their congregational context and in dialogue with ecclesial and academic discourse. Intra-disciplinary methods were used, with Lewis Rambo’s stage-model of religious conversion providing the framework for data collection. Material was gathered and analysed from a case study of an Elim Pentecostal congregation, utilising qualitative methods: participant observation, literature analysis, and life-story interviews.

This dissertation suggests that, while the book of Proverbs is sometimes difficult to interpret and its redaction history is clearly complex, it has much to say on the important area of leadership. To test this hypothesis, it applies four steps as its theoretical framework, and these later become part of the contributions of this study. First, its exploration of leadership in the Ancient Near East (ANE) shows that the ANE offers a good background to leadership in ancient Israel. Second, its survey of the scholarly debates on leadership in Proverbs reveals that the question of how Proverbs fosters leadership has been hugely neglected. The previous discussion has centred on the settings that produced the proverbs and the impact of ANE materials on Proverbs. Third, this enquiry maintains that poetics is an important tool for biblical exegesis and that it can help us to understand the possible meanings of the text. Its contribution lies with the use of exegetical analysis to demonstrate how Proverbs fosters aspects of leadership through the close analysis of poetic devices such as parallelisms, metaphors and imagery. The thesis conducts a detailed exploration of some verses that are judged to contain sayings that are relevant to the theme of leadership in Proverbs, demonstrating their complexity. It proposes a reading strategy of classifying the leadership texts in Proverbs into themes relating to the status, code of conduct, personality, skills and actions of leaders and the community’s response to leaders. Fourth, it critically summarises the results of my exegetical findings in Proverbs and their implications for the biblical scholars surveyed, as well as for contemporary leadership scholars. The thesis concludes with the application of my exegetical findings to one aspect of leadership in Proverbs to Christian leadership in Nigeria.

India has faced the challenge of religious terrorism for almost three decades. This phenomenon – in-spite of the Indian government’s comprehensive effort to contain it – has been spreading its vicious influence and expanding its support base among the conflicting religious communities in many parts of the country. The existing views, in regard to the rise of religious terrorism, suggest that economic, socio-political or geo-political issues (that cropped up during the post-partition period) are responsible for the birth of the problem. However, so far no study is done collectively on the four (Sikh, Kashmiri Muslim, Hindu and Naga Christian) religious communities to explain the cause of the problem. Therefore, this thesis studies these four religious traditions together to further investigate the main cause of this problem. In this regard the first six chapters examine: the historical background of religious antagonism and religious ideological basis (religious texts and symbols); the significance of religion in the Indian society and the relationship between the sacred and secular; the effects of the partition of India and socio-political developments (following the partition till the late 1970s) on the aggravation of the communal problem; and the impact of the worldwide religious resurgence on galvanization of religious and ethno-religious nationalism, communalism and religious violence. In doing so the thesis argues that, in contrast to the existing explanations, religion (religious ideologies) and historical and socio-political factors are intensely interconnected for the rise of the problem. Finally, the thesis proposes that rebuilding of the communal harmony, by utilising the interconnecting social threads of the coexisting sections of the Indian society, is essential for the deconstruction of the religious terror in India.

I argue that if one accepts the existence of a multiverse model that posits the existence of all possible realities, and also wants to maintain the existence of a God who exemplifies omnipotence, omnibenevolence and omniscience then the brand of God that he should ascribe to is one of deism rather than the God of classical theism. Given the nature and construct of such a multiverse, as well as some specific interpretations of the divine attributes, this points us to a God who is inactive in the natural world, not one who is. This deistic conception of God not only sits better with the idea of a multiverse and is also compatible with many arguments for theism, but it also responds to certain arguments for atheism better than the classical conception of God. I ultimately argue that deism ought to be given consideration as a plausible alternative conception to the classical conception of God, given the acceptance of a multiverse.