This research attempted to provide a comprehensive overview of the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary within the context of theological education in Cuba and the Cuban Revolution. Three major purposes directed this research. The first one was historical: to document and evaluate the rise, survival and achievements of the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary, which has continued its mission through extraordinary political opposition and economical difficulties. The second major purpose was institutional: to gain insight into Cuban seminary modus operandi. The third purpose of the study was to identify perceived needs of the seminary. This study sought to provide information that can facilitate a better understanding of Cuban Christian theological higher education. The Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary was founded in the city of Santiago the Cuba on October 10, 1949 by the Eastern Baptist Convention. This seminary exists for the purpose of training pastors for the Eastern Baptist Convention. The school offers a four-year program leading to a bachelor in theology degree. The Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention experienced the same oppression from the communist revolution as the rest of the evangelical denominations during the sixties and seventies. The worst period for the convention and the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary started in 1965 when many important people were recruited to work at the Military Units to Aid Production (UMAP). Fidel Castro recognized in 1991 that the Cuban Communist Party erroneously made atheism its religion. Although the Cuban communist regime never issued an antireligious policy, in subtle ways Christians suffered the consequences of the religious ideological conflict. Nevertheless, today the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary operates independently and without the direction of the Cuban government. Communism and Christianity have learned to live together in Cuba even though they started with difficulties. Theological education in Cuba not only survived the negative effects of the Cuban revolution, but also has emerged stronger than ever. Economic resources are the primary need of the Eastern Cuba Baptist Theological Seminary. The seminary has been through many difficulties during its history. Nevertheless, these days represent the best time in the seminary history.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript. Sponsor: Karl W. Bigelow. Dissertation Committee: R. Freeman Butts, Ralph R. Field, . Type C project. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 419-437).

“The Roots of Puritanism in the Korean Presbyterian Church” offers an analysis on Puritanism and an alternative to the contemporary Korean Presbyterian Church, which has lost its course; specifically in the current century of mission in Korea. The reasons for the abovementioned idea are as follows. Firstly, Puritanism was not foreign concept to Korean Christians, who have had contact with the concept before. Early missionaries in America fought against Conservatism (or Fundamentalism) and Liberalism. The conservative camp especially tried to hold on to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the authority of the Bible. These were the representatives of Puritan legacies. Puritanism was naturally implanted into Korean soil through early foreign missionaries who preached the Gospel. Therefore, the suggested idea must take on the character not of a creation but of a restoration in terms of the Korean Presbyterian Church. Secondly, it is due to its confidence that the Puritans pursuing points, which tried to establish the whole society on the basis of the Bible, are the answer to the contemporary Korean Presbyterian Church, which has stagnated in both number and quality of faith. The Puritans did not separate faith from the secular world. Instead, they tried to establish their society on the Bible. The Covenant with the church and the state as well as the individual was a strong vehicle for their thoughts. Their ultimate aim was piety in the presence of God. Meanwhile, the early Korean Presbyterian Church adopted the Twelve Articles of Faith and the Westminster Confession of Faith as official creeds. It meant that the Korean Presbyterian Church kept the Puritan point of the Bible and faith from 1884 to the middle of the 1930’s. The faculty of Pyungyang Theological Seminary, which was a unique training school for would-be ministers, taught the Puritan faith and theology thoroughly. However, Korean political changes tremendously influenced her Christianity. During the period of Japanese Imperialism (1919-1945), the early conservative faith and theology had to face the challenge of Liberalism. The whole of the Korean Presbyterian Church submitted to the Japanese iron-fisted rule and Shrine Worship in 1937. However, the Puritan faith and theology were rediscovered through the faith of the few resistors of Japanese rule. After Liberation from Japan in 1945, the antagonism of ideology caused Korea divided into two. On the one hand, North Korea fell under the banner of communism, which thoroughly eradicated the church in terms of its ideology more than the Japanese did. On the other hand, South Korea joined under the banner of democracy and churches were found to be in an unparalleled prosperous condition. The few resistors of Japanese imperialism cried out for the Puritan faith and demanded that the Korean Church should officially repent the sin of Japanese Shrine worship. However, an overwhelming majority consisting of the ecclesiastical authorities rejected their proposal as well as their faith and treated them as religious outcasts. The few resistors detached themselves from the established denomination and formed the Goshin Party. After the separation, schisms of denomination accelerated, because of differences in faith and theology or religious concession. In addition, Pentecostal theology and its spirituality as a substitute to Puritanism were more dominant in Korean Christianity than any other denominations. The Private experience and the charismata of the Holy Spirit were the keys points of the Pentecostal movement. They contributed to the concern and development of Pneumatology in Korean Christianity. However, Pentecostalism made the Presbyterian Church interpret the Bible without theological balance. The church began to seek material blessings instead of spiritual ones and to the pursuit of this world instead of the next. In addition, the Presbyterian Church was only concerned with itself without being indifferent to the ungodly society beyond itself. In conclusion, the restoration of Puritanism, which tried to base both the society and the church on the foundation of the Bible, is the best solution to the future contemporary Presbyterian Church. / Thesis (PhD (Church History and Church Polity))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Church History and Church Policy / PhD / unrestricted

Despite the fact that the Bible as the inspired Word of God deals primarily with the relationship between God and humankind and the way to salvation and eternal life, the Bible also presents tenets that entreat the protection of the natural and biophysical world. Consequently, since the environment is a foremost aspect of God’s creation it is appropriate to establish the Biblical perspective on creation as a whole and Christians’ subsequent position and duty to creation. Humankind has been ecologically irresponsible. Greed, inadequate knowledge and negligence have led to exploitation, degradation, and disregard for the natural environment. Unfortunately, there appears to be a “deep silence” within the Christian Church worldwide as well as in South Africa on believers’ role and duty towards the natural created environment. The premise underpinning this thesis is that God’s redemptive care applies not only to people, but also to the whole of creation and that believers have a Biblical mandate to care for the natural environment and afford it its concomitant value. The Bible provides believers with directives regarding environmental care summarised in God’s requirement for man to “work [the earth] and take care of it” (Gen. 2: 15). The anticipated outcomes of this research were to establish the status of Environmental Stewardship as a dimension Christian Stewardship and the level of Environmental Literacy provided for in the curricula of theological seminaries of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. The study further attempted to determine the level of understanding and stance of ministers, lecturers, elders and students towards these issues. Believers have a duty of care in relation to God’s creation in totality – both humanity and the natural environment. There is a great need for Christian discussion on and improvement in the appropriate use and protection of the environment. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

No description available.

This thesis contributes to the literature on the history of the transition from colonial to post-colonial in the Pacific. It explores the contribution of an individual to this transition, Rev. Dr. Alan Richard Tippett, as a focus for illuminating the struggles in the transitions and the development of post-colonial theory for mission. Alan Richard Tippet sailed to Fiji as an ordained Methodist missionary in 1941. He was a product of a Methodist parsonage and heir to the evangelical and revival tendencies of the Cornish Methodism of his family. He began his missionary career steeped in the colonial visions of the mission enterprise fostered by the Board of Missions of his church. He was eager to study anthropology but was given no chance to do so before he left Australia. He pursued his study of anthropology and history in Fiji and began to question the paternalism of colonial theory. Early in his time in Fiji he made the decision to join with those who sought change and the death of colonial mission. In his work as a circuit minister, theological educator, writer and administrator he worked to this end. He developed his talent for writing and research, encouraging the Fijian church to take pride in its past achievements. He became alienated from the administrators of the Australasian Methodist Board of Missions and could find no place in the Australian church. In 1961 he left Fiji and began a course of study at the newly formed Institute of Church Growth in Eugene, Oregon. This led him into the orbit of Donald McGavran and the newly emerging church growth theory of Christian mission. Although his desire was to enhance the study of post-colonial mission in Australia he could not find a position to support him even after he gained a PhD in anthropology from the University of Oregon. After research in the Solomon Islands he returned to the USA to assist Donald McGavran in the formation of the now famous School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena. While at Fuller he exercised considerable influence in the development of missiological theory and especially the application of anthropological studies in post-colonial mission. Although he contributed to both the ecumenical and evangelical debates on mission, he found himself caught up in the bitter debates of the 1960s and 1970s between them and, despite all efforts to maintain links, lost contact with the ecumenical wing. Retiring to Australia in 1977 he found that his world reputation was not recognised in his native land. He continued his work apace, although he was deeply saddened by the ignorance he found in Australia and by his continued rejection. He finally donated his library to St. Mark???s National Theological Centre. He died in 1988 in Canberra.

No description available.

This thesis contributes to the literature on the history of the transition from colonial to post-colonial in the Pacific. It explores the contribution of an individual to this transition, Rev. Dr. Alan Richard Tippett, as a focus for illuminating the struggles in the transitions and the development of post-colonial theory for mission. Alan Richard Tippet sailed to Fiji as an ordained Methodist missionary in 1941. He was a product of a Methodist parsonage and heir to the evangelical and revival tendencies of the Cornish Methodism of his family. He began his missionary career steeped in the colonial visions of the mission enterprise fostered by the Board of Missions of his church. He was eager to study anthropology but was given no chance to do so before he left Australia. He pursued his study of anthropology and history in Fiji and began to question the paternalism of colonial theory. Early in his time in Fiji he made the decision to join with those who sought change and the death of colonial mission. In his work as a circuit minister, theological educator, writer and administrator he worked to this end. He developed his talent for writing and research, encouraging the Fijian church to take pride in its past achievements. He became alienated from the administrators of the Australasian Methodist Board of Missions and could find no place in the Australian church. In 1961 he left Fiji and began a course of study at the newly formed Institute of Church Growth in Eugene, Oregon. This led him into the orbit of Donald McGavran and the newly emerging church growth theory of Christian mission. Although his desire was to enhance the study of post-colonial mission in Australia he could not find a position to support him even after he gained a PhD in anthropology from the University of Oregon. After research in the Solomon Islands he returned to the USA to assist Donald McGavran in the formation of the now famous School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena. While at Fuller he exercised considerable influence in the development of missiological theory and especially the application of anthropological studies in post-colonial mission. Although he contributed to both the ecumenical and evangelical debates on mission, he found himself caught up in the bitter debates of the 1960s and 1970s between them and, despite all efforts to maintain links, lost contact with the ecumenical wing. Retiring to Australia in 1977 he found that his world reputation was not recognised in his native land. He continued his work apace, although he was deeply saddened by the ignorance he found in Australia and by his continued rejection. He finally donated his library to St. Mark???s National Theological Centre. He died in 1988 in Canberra.

Despite the fact that the Bible as the inspired Word of God deals primarily with the relationship between God and humankind and the way to salvation and eternal life, the Bible also presents tenets that entreat the protection of the natural and biophysical world. Consequently, since the environment is a foremost aspect of God’s creation it is appropriate to establish the Biblical perspective on creation as a whole and Christians’ subsequent position and duty to creation. Humankind has been ecologically irresponsible. Greed, inadequate knowledge and negligence have led to exploitation, degradation, and disregard for the natural environment. Unfortunately, there appears to be a “deep silence” within the Christian Church worldwide as well as in South Africa on believers’ role and duty towards the natural created environment. The premise underpinning this thesis is that God’s redemptive care applies not only to people, but also to the whole of creation and that believers have a Biblical mandate to care for the natural environment and afford it its concomitant value. The Bible provides believers with directives regarding environmental care summarised in God’s requirement for man to “work [the earth] and take care of it” (Gen. 2: 15). The anticipated outcomes of this research were to establish the status of Environmental Stewardship as a dimension Christian Stewardship and the level of Environmental Literacy provided for in the curricula of theological seminaries of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. The study further attempted to determine the level of understanding and stance of ministers, lecturers, elders and students towards these issues. Believers have a duty of care in relation to God’s creation in totality – both humanity and the natural environment. There is a great need for Christian discussion on and improvement in the appropriate use and protection of the environment. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)