This thesis examines the relationship between the leaders of the Anglican Church, centring on Alexander Alfred Boddy (1854-1930), considered the father of British Pentecostalism, and the young Pentecostals in the process of formation of the three major Pentecostal denominations, namely, the Apostolic Faith Church, the Assemblies of God and the Elim Church. Although there were not many Anglican participants in British Pentecostalism and most Pentecostals came from Nonconformist backgrounds, Boddy dominated the leadership from the beginning. As a result, most of the British Pentecostals who were actively involved in the forming of Pentecostal denominations were either directly or indirectly influenced by him. However, as Pentecostalism grew, disagreement and conflict appeared over certain issues and intensified during the period when the Pentecostal denominations were taking shape. Finally, with the departure of the Anglican leaders from Pentecostalism, the Anglican influence disappeared. Although there is no doubt that Boddy’s contribution to the history of British Pentecostalism was considerable, there were huge gaps between his teachings and those of the men who became the denominational leaders of the Pentecostals.

This thesis investigates practices and beliefs of an African diaspora migrant church. The question this thesis seeks to answer is why are some of the second-generation members frustrated while others are leaving the church. The Church of Pentecost is a migrant church with its foundations in Ghana. In the UK, the Church of Pentecost appears to be flourishing, however, there seems to be a growing number of young people who claim to be frustrated whilst others are leaving the church. Subsequently, the focus of this thesis is to trace the contours of transition in the church and, ultimately, to find out why some of the second-generation members are disengaged and why others are leaving the church. As a Pentecostal church, one of the key areas of doctrine and practice is matters concerning spirits and the Holy Spirit. The study therefore used Ghanaian cosmology as well as Pentecostal practices and emphasis on Holy Spirit as a framework in its investigations. The thesis showed that although other significant factors contribute to some of the second-generation members’ frustration within the church, the first generation’s emphasis on spirits has played a vital role in the second generation’s approach to church.

This thesis examines the relationship between two major twentieth century theologians, Karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar. It seeks to show how their meeting, resulting in von Balthasar’s seminal study The Theology of Karl Barth, goes on to influence von Balthasar’s theological development throughout his trilogy beginning with The Glory of the Lord, continuing in the Theo-Drama and concluding with the Theo-Logic. In particular it explores the significance of the debate over the ‘analogy of being’ and seeks to show that von Balthasar’s decision to structure his trilogy around the transcendentals of ‘being’, the beautiful, the good and the true, results from his re-affirmation of the role of analogy in light of his debate with Barth. It will also suggest that von Balthasar’s adoption of a ‘theo-dramatic’ approach to God’s saving action and assertion of the role of Church as a ‘theo-dramatic character’ in her own right is prompted by concern over what he alleges to be ‘christological constriction’ and an inadequate doctrine of the Church in Barth. This argument will be conducted in dialogue with other theologians and interpreters of von Balthasar and conclude with a personal reflection on how the issues raised remain relevant today.

This thesis develops a Pentecostal ecotheology by utilizing key pneumatological themes that emerge from the Pentecostal tradition. It examines and utilizes the salient Pentecostal and Charismatic voices that have stimulated ecotheology in the Pentecostal tradition and situates them within the broader context of Christian ecumenical ecotheologies (Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Ecofeminist). These Pentecostal expressions are placed in dialogue with the particular ecological pneumatologies of Denis Edwards (Roman Catholic), Mark Wallace (Protestant), and Sallie McFague (Ecofeminist). The thesis advances a novel approach to Pentecostal ecotheology through a pneumatology of the Spirit baptized creation, the charismatic creational community, the holistic ecological Spirit, and the eschatological Spirit of ecological mission. Significantly, this thesis is the first substantive contribution to a Pentecostal pneumatological theology of creation with a particular focus on the Pentecostal community and its significance for the broader ecumenical community. Furthermore, it offers a fresh theological approach to imagining and sustaining earth-friendly practice in the twenty-first century Pentecostal church.

This thesis argues that people create their own ‘temporal collages’ in order to balance competing and conflicting demands for time. It uses British Quakers as a case study. From the mid-twentieth century to 2008 the nature of work and family life have changed considerably, and this thesis shows how British Quakers balance those worldly changes in order to remain faithful and involved with the Religious Society of Friends. The Society is in numerical decline, has no paid clergy and relies heavily on time given voluntarily as service. Democratised relationships enable commitment in friendship networks, and the research demonstrates how social capital is built in the much-valued Quaker communities to which Friends belong. The thesis also reveals how Friends choose those communities, and describes what they want from involvement and what they gain. Throughout the thesis, time is considered to be polychronic in order to accommodate the varied qualities given in Friends’ descriptions about time. Polychronic time is heterogeneous and includes the paradoxes, cycles, juxtapositions, interconnections and linear time (that of clocks and calendars). These diverse elements of time are drawn upon to build individualised and flexible constructs with priorities that vary from person to person and are adjusted throughout a lifetime according to circumstance and choice. The result is a temporal collage, a descriptive tool for the way in which individuals compile choices about time.

The ongoing global problems that adversely affect human society require re-dress, not only from a political perspective but also from the view of religions which are daily lived and practised by individuals and communities, seeking positive solutions for a more habitable earth. Africa, from its colonial legacies, has continually experienced disasters such as wars, droughts, famine, HIV and AIDS. All these have contributed to abject poverty and have affected the well-being of society, reducing the population to despair and hopelessness. Africa, however, is rich: more developed in her religions than in her economy. ‘You can not teach an African child about the existence of God’ (Dickson 1984). Nevertheless, in communities such as the Midzi-Chenda of Coastal Kenya, religion has become the cause of both religious and social exclusion. From the fear of condemnation, communities are hesitant to meet together as religious people in order to dialogue and address issues that persistently affect their lives. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion, with the purpose of discovering whether at the height of successive problems in Africa AIR and Christianity can agree to cooperate and together build a healthier society. This research is conducted among the Midzi-Chenda of Coastal Kenya, a community that has had diverse religious experience, whilst living with their multiple problems. Socially excluded by other religions, the Midzi-Chenda have been unable in solidarity to address their problems. The questions asked are firstly: ‘what are the historical causes for the religious rift?’ Secondly: ‘what possibilities can be found for achieving the cooperation which is essential for the two religious communities to be assisted to progress towards essential dialogue for life and action, and addressing the issue of community health?’

Despite Open Theism’s claims for a robust ‘Social’ Trinitarianism, there exists significant inconsistencies in how it is portrayed and subsequently applied within its wider theology. This sympathetic, yet critical, evaluation arises from the Pneumatological lacuna which exists not only in the conception of God as Trinity, but the subsequent treatment of divine providence, soteriology and eschatology. In overcoming this significant lacuna, the thesis adopts Francis Clooney’s comparative methodology as a means of initiating a comparative dialogue with Pentecostalism, to glean important insights concerning its Pneumatology. By engaging in the comparative dialogue between to the two communities, the novel insights regarding the Spirit are then incorporated into a provisional and experimental model of Open Theism entitled Realizing Eschatology. This understanding of Open Theism emphasizes the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work within a broader Trinitarian framework and suggests how the co-creation of reality between God and humanity possesses a significant Pneumatological component.

The thesis studies the Quaker thought of Robert Barclay (1648-90), focusing upon his theological views on the relationship between self and others, from his soteriology to peace testimony. The thesis has two main objects; the first is to raise the question about the modern view of Barclay. His theology has long been negatively treated as an exterior or foreign factor by the present Liberal Quakers’ self-affirmative theology. The second is to explore another possibility of understanding Quakerism and its practical applications in pacifism, from a different viewpoint than the empirical, individualistic one today. The whole research is conducted by using the concept of self as the central axis for analysis. By analysing Barclay’s theology and his peace testimony, and placing them within the contexts of traditional Christianity, the thesis indicates the other-absent character of Liberal Quakerism, and it shows an old-new Christian task that Quakers take on as a testimony to God and to Christ’s openness towards others. The specific themes are (1): ‘self-denial’ in Barclay’s theology as a counter-faith against self-reductive orthodox Calvinism and Arminianism, (2): Peculiarity of Liberal Quakerism and their historiography endorsed by an unexamined premise of self-affirmation, and the re-estimation of Barclay from that viewpoint, (3): Liberals’ self-centred orientation in pacifism in their simple belief in the calculability and reducibility of others, (4): The double-stance, or the possibility and impossibility, in Barclay’s view on perfection and the Kingdom, which is the reflection of self-other relations, as well described in Barclay’s theoretical connection of perfection to Christ’s command to ‘love one’s enemies,’ (5): the Church as a place to embody the Kingdom, and its practical extension to the entire world in pacifism, for the realisation of the Godly rule beyond the self-contained logic.

The review examines the literature in relation to parental cognitions and their relationship to child behaviour in parents of children with intellectual disability. It is generally recognised that mental health difficulties are at least partly influenced and maintained by cognitive differences and style. A literature search was carried out to identify articles relevant to parental locus of control, self-efficacy and attributions of behaviours in people with intellectual disability. It is argued that there is a need to develop a multidimensional model of parental cognition to fully describe parental cognitions and their relations to child behaviour and parental mental health. Within the empirical paper, parental perceptions of their child’s genetic syndrome were explored using the Common Sense Model of Illness Representations (Leventhal et al., 1980). Associations between parental perceptions, coping behaviours, affect and mental health were explored. Participants completed the Illness Perceptions Questionnaire Revised for Genetic Syndromes, measures of positive and negative affect, anxiety and depression and coping behaviours. Findings provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that the Common Sense Model of Illness Representations can be applied to the caregivers of children with rare genetic syndromes. Findings suggest that illness representations may have important implications for coping strategies and caregiver wellbeing.

This research is a comparative study between the Orthodox Youth Movement and Al-Jamā‘a Al-Islāmiyya. This research focuses on analyzing the evolution of the religious awareness processes that were triggered between 1898 and 1975 in the Sunni and Orthodox communities in Lebanon. This research examines: why the selected communities moved from Reform (Iṣlāḥ) to Revivalism (Iḥyā’) in the 1940s and the characteristic features of the Orthodox and Sunni revivalisms as exemplified by the Orthodox Youth Movement and Al-Jamā‘a Al-Islāmiyya. The methodology of this research takes this as an axiom and analyzes it to prove its validity then distills the constituting elements of their revivalisms. When comparing the components of revivalism present in the concepts of Iṣlāḥ of both organizations, there were overlaps as well as divergences. The commonalities observed form a preliminary template of revivalist behaviors exhibited by both movements. This template, with further study, may well be used to predict current and future revivalist behaviors. The 1967 crises in Palestine provided the opportunity to test the revivalist components because they were visible and shaped the way this issue was perceived and reacted upon by both movements.