The Pilgrim's Progress is accepted in the canon of children's literature due to its early adoption by child readers and because of its outstanding qualities. This thesis explores some possible reasons for the work's popularity and longevity. A New Historicist approach suggests the relevance of Bunyan's pilgrim hero and his narrative to each of the three centuries since the work's first publication. It focuses particularly on the interaction between society, child and text, considering the societal and psychic dimensions. History and Developmental Theory, including that of Faith Development, are drawn on as particular resources. A propositional model provides visual explanation for the interactionary role of the components and suggests a scientific basis for the relevance factors. A broad sample of copies of The Pilgrim's Progress, published from 1678 until 1994, is surveyed in order to test the hypothesis that the hero is a changing one, affected by society's changing norms and ethos. Bunyan's influence on writers for children over the three centuries is also considered, leading to recognition of The Pilgrim's Progress as a prototype for children's literature.

This study seeks to articulate how and to what extent the religious-education programs, faith formation, and spiritual ethos in Catholic schools can cultivate dialogue about and foster experiences of religion and God in light of the diversity of faith traditions present in the student population. The methodology involves demographic and document inquiry, participant observation, and individual, semistructured interviews using an analytical framework inspired by Thomas Groome’s seminal work on a shared Christian praxis. Research was conducted between November 2004 and March 2005. One school in Canada, one school in the United States, and two schools in India were observed, and 15 interviews were completed. What was demonstrated most clearly is that specific dialogue about religion and God is not a primary focus in any of the schools. Rather, their approaches seek to foster character development and religious tolerance based on the principles of moral and values education that are rooted in the experiences of the students. This study is useful for schools that desire to stimulate religious expression and dialogue that are rooted in, but not limited to, the narrow language of a single faith tradition.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), drawn up in London in the 1640s, has been one of the most influential confessions in the history of Reformed theology. It has occupied a very significant place in the life of a great many Protestant churches since the seventeenth century, and continues to serve as a chief subordinate standard in several major denominations today. In the opening chapter of the Confession, the divines of Westminster included a clause which implied that there would no longer be any supernatural revelation from God for showing humankind the way of salvation. Means by which God had once communicated the divine will concerning salvation, such as dreams, visions, and the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, were said to be no longer applicable. However, many of the authors of the WCF accepted that "prophecy" continued in their time, and a number of them apparently believed that disclosure of God�s will through dreams, visions, and angelic communication remained possible. How is the "cessationist" clause of WCF 1:1 to be read in the light of these facts? Was it intended as a strict denial of the possibility that any supernatural revelation for the purposes of salvation could take place after the apostolic period, or did its authors, as some modern scholars have argued, allow for a more flexible view, in which such divine revelation through extraordinary means might still take place? This thesis explores these questions in the light of the modern debates over the interpretation of the Confession�s language and its implications for the church today. It considers the difference between "mediate" and "immediate" revelation as understood by the Westminster divines, and attempts to show that only "immediate" revelation was considered to have ceased, while "mediate" revelation, which always involved Scripture, was held to continue. A detailed analysis of the writings of the Westminster divines reveals that these churchmen possessed both a strong desire to maintain the unity of Word and Spirit and a concern to safeguard the freedom of the Holy Spirit to speak to particular circumstances through the language and principles of Scripture. God still enabled predictive prophecy and spoke to individuals in extraordinary ways, but contemporary prophecy was held to be something distinct from the prophecy of New Testament figures. In the minds of both the Scottish Presbyterians and English Puritans, prophecy was considered to be an application of Scripture for a specific situation, not an announcement of new information not contained within the Bible. The Scriptures always remained essential for the process of discerning God�s will. The Introduction to the thesis considers the debate over WCF 1:1 in its modern setting. Chapter One outlines the socio-political and theological context of the Westminster Assembly, and discusses the question of how to assess the respective contributions of the divines to the documents it produced. Chapter Two investigates the Westminster view of the necessity and scope of special revelation, and discusses the nature of the "salvation" which was conveyed by this means. Chapter Three surveys the exegetical traditions underpinning the teaching that former modalities of supernatural revelation had ceased. Chapter Four seeks to respond to modern claims that Puritan theology allowed for a "continuationist" position, by canvassing evidence both from seventeenth-century Reformed thinkers themselves and from their critics, who maintained that Westminster orthodoxy was indeed cessationist in style. Chapters Five and Six explore the claims to and explanations for "prophecy" in Reformed theology in both England and Scotland in the seventeenth century. Chapter Seven examines the question of the theological status of the Westminster Confession in its own time. To what extent were subscription requirements envisaged by the Assembly and the governments of the day, and what form did these requirements take? The thesis concludes that the Westminster divines intended the cessationist clause to affirm that there was to be no more extra-biblical, "immediate" revelation for any purpose now that the church possessed the completed Scriptures. The written Word of God was fully capable of showing the way of "salvation" in its wider scope as either temporal or eternal deliverance. At the same time the divines did not intend to deny that God could still speak through special providences that might involve dreams or the ministry of angels, for example, but such revelation was always to be considered "mediate". The primary means was held to be the written Scriptures, illuminated by the Holy Spirit. The unity of the Word and Spirit was maintained, and God�s freedom to address individual circumstances remained intact.

Thesis (MEd (Religion Studies))--University of South Australia, 1994

The Methodist Mission Northern has provided social services to the community since 1851. The underpinning philosophy of Methodist Mission Northern’s service provision is that of being a Good Neighbour. The concept of Good Neighbour derives from the Old and the New Testaments of the Holy Bible, the Hebrew Scriptures and also public policy. A defining moment in the emergence of Christian universalism comes when the neighbour is asserted to include everyone, … while the Levite and the Cohen pass by the injured man… the Good Samaritan comes to his aid and proves himself the true neighbour of his (injured) neighbour [Zizek, Santner, & Reinhard, 2005, p. 6]. What does Good Neighbour entail in the context of so many people suffering owing to poverty, injustice and social exclusion? This study set out to examine how the concept of Good Neighbour has been put into practice and how that is relevant in contemporary public policy setting. This research was undertaken using phenomenological enquiry approach which explored the experiences of the key stakeholders namely the Board of Governors, the staff and the clients or service recipients of the Methodist Mission Northern to understand the impact of service delivery on clients. This was done through a review of the Minutes of the Board Meetings and Annual Reports over a twenty year period from 1986 to 2006. The study found that for the greater part of the history the operation of the concept of Good Neighbour by Methodist Mission Northern tended to focus on the charity model which provides for the day to day needs of the clients such as providing food, clothing and shelter and other immediate needs. For Methodist Mission Northern’s concept of Good Neighbour to reflect its underpinning philosophy more effectively the practice needs to move beyond the charity model into a community development model focussed on social change and transformation. This means meeting the needs of clients in ways that empower them to move towards independence and interdependent self sustainability.

Thesis (Psy.D.)--Wheaton College, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (l. 44-50).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1988. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 625-632).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, 1992. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-232).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Frankfurt, 2005.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-138).