Christian Denominations and Sects Commons^™

God And Satan: A Look At Martin Luther’S Titles For Satan And What They Reveal About The Relationship Between God And Satan, Alexandria M. Shick

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Shick, Alexandria M. “God and Satan: A Look at Martin Luther’s Titles for Satan and What They Reveal About the Relationship Between God and Satan.” M.A. Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2022 87 pp.

The relationship between God and Satan is complex and intertwined. There is a tendency in Christianity to overemphasize Satan’s power and his place in the realm of evil and in so doing neglect and disregard what it means for God to be truly omnipotent. Luther understood Satan as being under God’s will, only having the ability to act where, when and how God allowed ...

The Modern Wesley Class Meeting - Bringing Accountability, Practical Faith, And Personal Connection Into Established Local Congregations, Roger Graham Clayton Jr

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

This paper is an attempt to resurrect the Wesleyan class meeting in to the modern day congregation in order to build stronger and more vibrant communities. By examining the historical footprint of the class meeting in Wesley's Britain and the beginning of the American experiment, the core attributes of the class meeting are extracted to be accountability, vulnerability, and practical faith.

This paper also attempts to show that these core principles of the class meeting are still present in the modern world outside of the church to great success within the military, non-denominational faith groups, and in the battle ...

Cultural Formation Of Place: Making Yourself At Home, Olivia Arratia

Art Theses and Dissertations

The environment you grow up in can become a pivotal part of your existence. The sights, smells, people, and places you experience every day can transform the way you see the world. Growing up in a Mexican-American household has brought its own set of experiences that have made me the artist I am today. I am one of many contemporary artists building on the foundations of their heritage and the Chicano movement. I am also a Mexican-American artist expanding the identity and extending the legacy in the 21st century. This paper will investigate how Mexican-American heritage has influenced my artistic ...

Developing Practices Within The Lord’S Supper That Develop Central Identity At Queen City Church Of Christ, Ryan Russell

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This project was designed to meet a need at the Queen City Church of Christ (QCC) for developing intentional practices around the Lord’s Supper for forming a central identity in a diverse community. The scope of this project focuses on the project group’s ability to develop practices based on the theology of the Lord’s Supper, biblical teaching, engaging in practices of spiritual formation as a group, and their observations of Lord’s Supper practices in other Christian traditions. Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth provides the textual context for the discussion of the role ...

Incorporating Wisdom Christology Into The Phronesis Of Courtyard Church Of Christ, Tiffany A. Dahlman

Doctor of Ministry Theses

The purpose of this project was to address an identified problem Courtyard Church of Christ members were having with decision-making in a way that promoted shalom and reflected Christ to the world. I proposed that Wisdom Christology could assist in the decision-making process and formed an intervention team of five additional people from within the congregation to explore the situation through participatory action research. We met for six sessions in the early months of 2020. The team embarked on a thorough examination of Wisdom Christology through the Scriptures climaxing in the Wisdom Hymn of Col 1:15–20. Our subsequent ...

Creating An Action Plan To Increase Diversity And Inclusion At Northwest Church Of Christ, Kenton Reeves Brown

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This project was designed to meet a need at the Northwest Church of Christ in Oklahoma City to help the church transition from a church that values diversity to one that realizes its vision of being diverse and inclusive. The scope of this project was to create an action plan to increase diversity and inclusion to present to the church leaders for their consideration. The theological foundation for the project comes from Paul’s convictions, expressed in Gal 1–2, that any who are in Christ should not be excluded or treated as a lower-class member of the community based ...

Developing Policies And Procedures For Restorative Accountability At Southwestern Assemblies Of God University, W. Lance Meche

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This project was designed to address a lack of policies and procedures at Southwestern Assemblies of God University that support its restorative accountability approach in addressing student conduct violations. The student handbook provides rights and responsibilities afforded each student as well as the procedures that appointed staff members are to follow in the event that campus policies are violated; however, the language used in the student handbook did not address modern student culture, nor did it procedurally assist staff members in helping students to develop spiritually. The project intervention involved staff members who address student violations with grace as well ...

The Bible As Relic, Fetish Or Talisman In Nollywood Films: A Semiotic Perspective, Floribert Patrick C. Endong

Journal of Religion & Film

Many Nollywood Christian films tap into a plurality of myths and idiosyncrasies prevailing in Nigeria in particular and the Christendom in general. Some of these myths and idiosyncrasies revolve around the perceived magical powers of the Bible, particularly the Holy Book’s ability to neutralize or prevent the designs of paranormal and satanic entities. In line with such Christian myths, many Nollywood Christianity-based films deploy various typologies of artifacts, signs and special effects to represent the Bible as an object which is more than a mere carrier of holy scriptures and the voice of God. In this paper, attention is ...

Examining Discipleship Strategies In Christian And Missionary Alliance Churches, Osvaldo A. Alvarado

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

In this quantitative study, discipleship strategies of churches in the Christian and Missionary Alliance were surveyed, to determine if discipleship strategies were effective at fulfilling the mission of helping people connect with God and grow spiritually. Data were collected from 30 church attenders from Western Pennsylvania churches, 27 of which fully completed the research survey. The internal reliability level of participant responses was evaluated and considered excellent. Results showed that the study participant perceptions that they grew in their faith in Christ through the discipleship opportunities provided at their church was statistically significant with a very large magnitude of response ...

Reading The Signs Of The Time: Three Voices In The Confessional Lutheran Church As They Relate To Segregation, Racism, And Apartheid In South Africa From 1900–1978, Christoph Dietrich Weber

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Weber, Christoph, Reading the signs of the time: “Three voices in the confessional Lutheran Church to segregation, racism, and apartheid in South Africa from 1900–1978.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2022. 425 pp.

According to August Vilmar, reading the signs of the times was an essential task of all pastors and theologians. It was a part of their prophetic task to interpret the world and its context with the word of God and to proclaim the voice of the church in law and gospel. The three theologians analyzed in this dissertation: Karl Meister, Hermann Sasse, and Friederich W. Hopf ...

We Are All Eve: Rescuing The Mother Of All Things From Patriarchal Interpretation And Its Implications For Modern Christian Women, Maeve Pioli

Senior Theses

For centuries, the traditional Christian understanding of the Genesis narrative has relied heavily on the patriarchal biases of historic church figures to enforce a gendered hierarchy where women are deprived of authority, voice, and agency. My thesis deconstructs these misogynistic interpretations to provide liberating, alternative readings for the Garden of Eden as well as New Testament verses that utilize Eve’s transgression to justify women’s secondary status. As a former Christian, I have witnessed the persistence of this oppressive theology, often repackaged as a “complementary” relationship between sexes where women must dutifully submit to the headship of men. Therefore ...

Contrasting The Faith Responses Of The Royal Official And Thomas In The Gospel Of John And Their Implications For Discipleship, Edward W. Watson

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

John pens his Gospel in such a way that, like his included characters who encounter Jesus, his readers are being confronted with the person of Jesus and the totality of his revelation. Also like the characters, John’s readers must make decisions regarding the divine truth being revealed through the gospel as they read the text and experience Jesus for themselves. This study examines the two characters of the royal official and Thomas in the Gospel of John, examining how each character responds to the testimony of Jesus and how their differing faith-responses provide instruction for modern discipleship.

Review Of Quoting Corinthians. By Edward Watson And Martin Culy, Cletus L. Hull, Iii

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Review of Quoting Corinthians. By Edward Watson and Martin Culy. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2018. 171 pp.

By Cletus Hull.

Review Of A Theology Of Hope: Contextual Perspectives In Korean Pentecostalism, By Sang Yun Lee, Robert S. Oh

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A Theology of Hope: Contextual Perspectives in Korean Pentecostalism. By Sang Yun Lee. Baguio City, Philippines: Asia Pacific Theological Seminary Press, 2018. xiv + 271 pp.

by Robert Oh.

Review Of A Pentecostal Commentary On Revelation By Jon K. Newton., Michael Blythe

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A Pentecostal Commentary on Revelation (Pentecostal Old Testament and New Testament Commentaries). By Jon K. Newton. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2021. 426 pp.

Review by Michael Blythe

Review Of Pneumatology And Union: John Calvin And The Pentecostals, By Peter Ross, Audrey Mccormick

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Azusa Street And The Lost Doctrine Of Humility, Michael Blythe

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article delves into original source material from the Azusa Street Revival to rekindle an awareness of the heavy emphasis that participants placed on humility as a deep and vibrant experience, both as a precondition for receiving the fullness of the Spirit and as an ongoing Pentecostal encounter. Re-lighting the Pentecostal fire is necessary to respond to the struggles of the movement in North America where disillusionment with “triumphalism” has created an uncertain future. Voices from the past and present echo the imperative that the Holy Spirit experience should be balanced by personal sacrifice. A revival of deep self surrender ...

An Examination Of New Apostolic Movement Terminology: Correlating The Five-Fold Ministry And The Bureaucratic Management Model, Volker Krüger

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

There is a new understanding within the Pentecostal- Charismatic tradition of the five-fold ministry role as a concept for deploying effective leadership. The so-called New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement establishes an alternative approach within today’s Christianity, one that is noticeably different from the traditional leadership models in Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and the evangelical traditions. The model argues that churches and Christian ministries need effective leadership models that are theologically grounded in the doctrine of the offices of apostle and the five-fold ministry as described in the New Testament. The NAR model is a church governance concept that claims to ...

Spirit-Empowered Liturgy: The Role Of The Holy Spirit In Traditional Christian Worship, Seth Whitaker

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Sometimes perceived as dead ritual in contemporary Christian churches, liturgy provides a time-tested means of experiencing the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in corporate worship. When understood within its own historical use, liturgy, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, enables a community of faith to consistently remember and participate in God’s saving acts in history, culminating in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and actively look forward to the eschatological hope of Jesus’ return. Like the banks of a river, liturgy plays an important role to effectively facilitate the consistent and reliable movement of the Holy Spirit ...

Is Wisdom Silent?: Apophatic Glossolalia, Ryan Lytton

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Drawing on both similarities and disagreements between the apophatic theology of Dionysius and Gregory of Nazianzus, I will demonstrate how glossolalia can be better understood through the lens of apophatic theology. Gregory and Dionysius both recognize the failure of human language, but each follows that concept to a different conclusion. Dionysius switches from categories of knowledge to categories of experience and focuses the mystical life on ascetic practices in the hopes that they promote an experience of God’s presence. Pentecostals, with our emphasis on experience, often find a kinship with thinkers like Dionysius. In contrast, Gregory of Nazianzus switches ...