Fiat: A Christian perspective on the ecclesiastical application of sociology, with a particular focus on "natural church development" and "patterns in missional faithfulness" in the context of the marketization of the church.
Published: 2007
Language: eng
Number of pages: 219
ISBN-13: 9780494274149
Subjects: Christian sociology.; Church.; Church and social problems.; Church marketing.; Religion and science.; Faith and reason.
Description: My thesis is that the Christian ecclesiastical sociologist needs to commit him/herself to an understanding of "objectivity" which is not only a refinement of the term as it has traditionally been understood in the natural sciences, but even a refinement of the term as it has come to be understood by critical theorists in the social sciences. Following Mannheim and Baum, the notion of "objectivity" that I am proposing exhibits both openness to totality as well as commitment to Jesus Christ. Throughout, I also propose a devotion to St. Mary as particularly helpful in this endeavour.To reach my conclusions about "objectivity", I consider the nature of truth and human beingness; faith, reason, and the challenge of the scientific revolution to the notion of telos in human life; the relationship between faith and sociology; ecclesiology and the Doctrine of the Church; and church growth vs. patterns of missional faithfulness, in the context of the global pressures of marketization.
Notes: Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2989.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2007.

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