Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

God & Being: An Enquiry, By George Pattison, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article reviews the book God & Being: An Enquiry, by George Pattison.

When God Dies: Deconversion From Theism As Analogous To The Experience Of Death, William David Simpson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis, I explore the psychological and experiential aspects of the shift from a supernatural theistic worldview (specifically born-again Christianity) to a
philosophically naturalistic and atheistic worldview in the context of the religious
landscape in the U.S. I posit that certain features of this transition, which is known as "deconversion,” can be thought of as potentially analogous, both psychologically and subjectively, to the experience of another's death as an objective environmental change. I provide anthropological and psychological evidence that believers often experience the God of born-again Christianity as an independently existing and active agent in the world ...

Removing The Classical Landmark: Assessing An Epistemology Governed By Methodological Naturalism, Kegan Shaw

Masters Theses

This paper proposes to assess the naturalist project in epistemology with an eye towards exposing the project as deficient for serving as a robust epistemological project. Epistemologists treasure a certain family of questions and burden themselves with a number of specific concerns the most important of which, I think, cannot be answered by the epistemological naturalist. Ignoring these questions, I will argue, essentially amounts to a dismissal of the principle tension that primarily motivates and properly guides epistemological theorizing. This tension is the familiar appearance vs. reality distinction and characterizes what I am calling the classical landmark or boundary-stone for ...

Wesleyan Theology And Christian Ethics, Kevin Twain Lowery

Faculty Scholarship - Theology

This presentation provides an overview of the intersection between Wesleyan theology and Christian ethics, essentially sketching the contours of Wesleyan moral theology. Of all the available options for framing Christian ethics, Wesleyan theology’s doctrines of: 1) sin, 2) prevenient grace, 3) revelation, and 4) sanctification make it best suited for virtue ethics. In essence, conscience (i.e., practical reasoning) and moral transformation are the primary means to pursuing the goals of moral purity, wholehearted love for God and others, and acting in ways that glorify God and edify others. Nevertheless, like other versions of virtue ethics, Wesleyan virtue ethics ...

Interview Of Frederick Van Fleteren, Ph.D., Frederick Van Fleteren Ph.D., Leo Wong

All Oral Histories

Frederick Van Fleteren was born in St. Clair Shores, Michigan in 1941. He was raised by two devout Catholic parents who valued his education. He went to Catholic grade schools and colleges in the United States, as well as two Irish universities when he was getting his PhD. in philosophy. His interest in philosophy would guide his academic and professional career from his undergraduate years to the present day where he is a Philosophy professor at La Salle University. From 1967 until 1978, he was an ordained priest with the Augustinians. He received his B.A. and M.A. from ...

Witnessing The Web: The Rhetoric Of American E-Vangelism And Persuasion Online, Amber M. Stamper

Theses and Dissertations--English

From the distribution of religious tracts at Ellis Island and Billy Sunday’s radio messages to televised recordings of the Billy Graham Crusade and Pat Robertson’s 700 Club, American evangelicals have long made a practice of utilizing mass media to spread the Gospel. Most recently, these Christian evangelists have gone online. As a contribution to scholarship in religious rhetoric and media studies, this dissertation offers evangelistic websites as a case study into the ways persuasion is carried out on the Internet. Through an analysis of digital texts—including several evangelical home pages, a chat room, discussion forums, and a ...

Genocide In The Old Testament?, John Smart

Senior Honors Papers

This study examines the warfare commanded by God during the invasion of Canaan by Joshua. These battles were examples of ḥerem warfare in which Yahweh Himself initiated and waged war against the Canaanites. Through historical and Biblical study it becomes clear that the Canaanites were an extraordinarily wicked people and God exercised great patience in dealing with them before their final destruction. Furthermore, the invasion of Canaan was instrumental in God’s larger salvation history. Sadly, pain and death are the direct ramifications of man’s sinful rebellion against God. The themes of war and condemnation are in theological continuity ...

A Response To Clark Pinnock's Hope For The Unevangelized As Seen In A Wideness In God's Mercy, Joshua Covert

Masters Theses

This paper will offer a response to Clark H. Pinnock's hope for the unevangelized as seen in A Wideness in God's Mercy. Pinnock argues that God saves individuals based upon their faith not primarily their knowledge. Pinnock develops a concept called the faith principle which he uses to support his claims. Pinnock provides five examples of unevangelized persons who are saved through faith without knowledge of Christ. Through Pinnock's faith principle and these five examples he argues that the unevangelized do not need special revelation - knowledge of Christ. It will be argued that the five examples provided ...

Clay-Potter Imagery In The Bible: Theological And Practical Implications For Daily Christian Life, Karl Stelzer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

God, the Master Potter, uses clay-potter imagery to explain spiritual truth. These passages are ignored, explained superficially, or misinterpreted and have not had the divinely intended impact. Theologically, doctrines of Theology Proper, Bibliology, and Anthropology have been compromised. Practically, the Holy Spirit has been hindered. To demonstrate the need for clay-potter instruction, research will include a comparative analysis of information gathered through questionnaires to churches that have held a clay-potter conference and those that have not, and an examination of written material and popular presentations. This author combines professional pottery expertise and biblical training to present accurate exposition. This thesis ...

A Case Study In The Ministry Of Harold Willmington: Seven Major Contributions To Liberty University, Rick Buck

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis project is to provide a qualitative case study regarding the major contributions of Harold Willmington to Liberty University. The project highlights the significant contributions to discipleship and education of non-traditional adult learners within the Liberty University family. The research questions seek to collect data regarding the degree of satisfaction of Bible education and ministry training of post-graduation alumni. The thesis project analyzes the development of the various Bible Institute programs established at Liberty University and other major contributions made by Harold Willmington from 1972 to the present. A significant amount of data is obtained through ...

Normal Mysticism : An Interdisciplinary Study Of Max Kudushin's Rabbinic Hermeneutic, Thomas L. Head

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Max Kadushin (1895-1980) was a rabbi, professor, and preeminent figure in the history of American Conservative Jewish rabbinic thought. His hermeneutic system, which centers on the idea of organic religious value-concepts, has had a significant influence on the emerging Textual Reasoning movement.

In chapter one, I describe the intellectual climate in which Kadushin's system took shape—providing a short history of the 19th-century reform and haskalah movements, discussing the general outline of Alfred North Whitehead's process philosophy tradition, and placing new focus on the tension between Conservative Judaism and Mordecai Kaplan's emerging philosophy of Reconstructionism as a ...

Eschatology, Delbert R. Rose

Papers

No abstract provided.

The Use And Abuse Of Power: A Study Of Principalities And Power, Gilbert M. James

Papers

No abstract provided.

Apologetics, Harold B. Kuhn

Papers

No abstract provided.

The Church, Howard F. Shipps

Papers

No abstract provided.

Entire Sanctification, William M. Arnett

Papers

No abstract provided.

“O Great God!” Humility And Camera Movement In Roberto Rossellini’S The Flowers Of St. Francis, Justin Ponder

Journal of Religion & Film

Roberto Rossellini’s The Flowers of St. Francis (1950) represents the saint’s humility through the director’s humble style. Some claim this becomes most apparent in one scene where reverse-editing creates a compassionate bond between the saint and a leper. Close analysis, however, shows that cinematographic elements link Francis to God more than this counterpart. These elements pair him with a man for whom he feels compassion less than the God to whom he shows obedience. Ultimately, this scene’s humble style suggests the ways in which humility might be based less on compassion for others than obedience to ...

Spirit(Uality) In The Films Of Terrence Malick, Christopher B. Barnett

Journal of Religion & Film

This paper will argue that Terrence Malick is a theological filmmaker, even though scholars have preferred to emphasize his indebtedness to Martin Heidegger. It will proceed by way of Malick’s use of wind imagery. First, it will show that the wind motif recalls theological notions about God as spirit. Second, it will illustrate how Malick employs wind imagery, revealing a sensitivity to the wind’s evocation of God’s presence and absence. Third, it will argue that Malick’s cinematic restraint identifies the practice of detachment [Gelassenheit] as the link between his theological and Heideggerian interests.

Moore’S Paradox, Direct Doxastic Voluntarism, And Atheist Distrust, Kyle Thompson

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

The concept of belief is analyzed and then discussed within the context of the current climate of atheist distrust in America. To begin, Moore’s Paradox, and its relationship to an important claim made by Wittgenstein regarding false beliefs, is explored. Next, the definition of belief that results from affirming Wittgenstein’s claim is outlined and subsequently defended from an attempted refutation constructed by John N. Williams. The defended definition of belief, which regards direct doxastic voluntarism as false, is then used to argue that atheists do not directly choose to not believe in any gods so as to evade ...

Hermeneutics And Exegesis, Norm Mathers

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.