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“Because it tells me so:” A qualitative investigation of the lived experience of engaging with the bible in evangelical faith communities

Singleton, Steven (2020) “Because it tells me so:” A qualitative investigation of the lived experience of engaging with the bible in evangelical faith communities. PhD thesis, Dublin City University.

Abstract
In evangelical faith communities the Bible is afforded a privileged position and is read as a source of doctrinal content, moral teaching and devotional guidance. The Bible is expected to shape the corporate and individual lives of those who belong to these communities. While a significant body of literature exists addressing theological issues in regard to the Bible in these communities, very little research exists in Ireland on how people actually experience their engagement with the Bible. The focus of this study is to investigate the ways in which people who belong to evangelical faith communities interpret their experiences of engaging with the Bible. The research has been designed deliberately to allow the lived experience of the participants to set the parameters for the research rather than being driven by the theoretical concepts of theological discourse. The thesis begins by providing a ‘theological frame’ for the research, focusing on a limited selection of issues in order to locate the qualitative research within some of the wider concerns of theological discourse on the Bible. It then outlines and discusses the research methodology adopted for the qualitative research and provides the rationales for the interviewing, the analysis and the reporting processes. The following chapters present the analysis of the interviews, allowing the participants to tell their own stories of how they have engaged with the Bible, how they have interpreted their Bible engagement, and how these experiences have shaped their lives. These chapters provide both a ‘thick description’ of the interview data and an accompanying analysis of the data in an attempt to understand some of the underlying frameworks and commitments that form part of the lived experience of the participants. The final chapter draws together the conclusions of the research and makes some suggestions for further research.
Metadata
Item Type:Thesis (PhD)
Date of Award:November 2020
Refereed:No
Supervisor(s):Anderson, Brad
Subjects:Humanities > Religions
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Science > School of Theology, Philosophy, & Music
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:24326
Deposited On:04 Dec 2020 11:49 by Bradford Anderson . Last Modified 03 Aug 2021 12:10
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