Chris Button

A theological reflection on homelessness in relation to belonging and identity is presented. The paper focuses on how the theory of the extended self can provide a possible pathway towards a clearer definition of homelessness. The current definitions of homelessness including theological writing on the topic are reviewed. The specific context is the author’s experience of working in homeless residential hostels run by The Salvation Army, and now as a learning and development specialist for The Salvation Army. An outcome is to sketch out possible changes to practice for The Salvation Army in particular and for homeless work in general based on a redescription of homelessness.

This looks at the theological implications of the Person Centred Approach and the Personalisation Agenda within The Salvation Army Homelessness Context. It seeks to identify the beginnings of a theology of the person and sets out the path along which this will later be developed. It sets out the approach of Rowan Williams towards what it means to be a person then fuses this to the context of N. T. Wright's eschatology.

This study is intended to assess the traditional Salvation Army understanding of its own sacramental theology and then to show that this can be deepened and better explained using a theological framework developed from N. T. Wright. I will be showing that for The Salvation Army the essential concept regarding its own sacramental theology is holiness, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer. I will show that the theology of N. T. Wright, especially his eschatological and pneumatological emphasis, provides an excellent source of expression for Salvationist sacramental theology. I have shown that a clear point of intersection between N. T. Wright and Salvationist theology is the incarnational element of the Holy Spirit, especially in temple theology and God’s people as the new eschatological temple.  This then provides a point of development for Salvationist sacramental theology, positioning the individual believer as being a conduit through which the grace of God may be mediated, which ultimately leads to the suggestion that the sanctified believer is a sacrament. This then becomes the main foundation of Salvationist sacramental theology, that the believer is the true sacrament. This then provides the source from which Salvationist sacramental theology, it is my hope that the findings from this study can serve as a stepping stone for The Salvation Army to continue to think about and develop its sacramental theology in a truly distinctive way without the need to return to the traditional sacraments. I think that Orthodox theology would offer a particularly fruitful avenue of investigation in the development of sanctification as The Salvation Army’s sacramental theology.

A discussion of how Christianity may effectively speak about death and suffering, a rejection of the traditional approach to theodicy and instead an appeal to a theology of hope. This is built upon the works of N.T Wright and Transformation Theology. It is intended to provide a framework for constructing a working Christian Appologetic rather than being an appologetic itself.

"An essay looking at the role that the cults of devotion to the saints played in Christian life in medieval europe. It looks at areas such as the development of saints in the early church, the grown of localised sacred space and in pilgrimages. It finishes with the importance of Mary and a brief look at how the medieval understanding of cosmology and divine kingship helped set teh foundations for beleif in the saints.

A relatively brief essay designed to lead into more study. "

A brief inquiry into the thought of Iris Murdoch and to what extent it can be said that Iris Murdoch helps us to understand this relationship between morality and theology. It further explores the role of the divine in morality and the necessity, or otherwise, of having an external source for morality and ethics.

Given as part of group discussion on the idea of slavery as a metaphor in the relationship between God and Man. It provides a brief look at the role of the exodus in the relationship of God and mankind and the role that the Shemah may play in that relationship

A brief essay on the role that religion may have played during the German Peasant's War. It briefly exams the issues of religion, literacy and culture during this time and seeks to understand to what extent religion played a part of the Peasant's War.

Submitted as part of my undergraduate study and then further edited.

An essay on the role that the sermon plays in the interpretation of scripture. It mainly focuses on the question of where 'authority' lies and on how our understanding of divine revelation will affect the way we understand the role of the sermon in interpreting scripture.

A brief report written to present the importance of values in the social work of The Salvation Army and of the author. Written to be a sign post to further reading and in partial completion of a chartered institute of housing level 3 course in preventing homelessness.