Digital Commons Network^™

“Study To Show Thyself Approved”: An Analysis Of Oral Roberts’ Personal Copy Of The Commentary On Exodus By Umberto Cassuto, Daniel D. Bunn Jr

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Having happened upon what was previously Oral Roberts’ personal copy of the commentary on Exodus by Umberto Cassuto, I observed his active interaction with the volume by way of notes and underlines. I determined to analyze his interaction with it. This essay shares the results of the analysis of that book. It begins with a brief overview of his personal life during the time in which he possessed the commentary. Then, it makes observations about his interaction, showing specific examples. Finally, it will look more intently at a sermon in which his use of the commentary is made explicit.

Editorial - Spiritus 9.1 (Spring 2024), Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Front Matter Spiritus 9.1 (Spring 2024), Spiritus@Oru.Edu

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Spiritus 9.1 (2024), Spiritus@Oru.Edu

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Spiritus 9.1 (Spring 2024) full issue. Edited by Jeff Lamp, Ph.D.

Trump's 2016 Election Win: Why He Owes It To Jesus, Margaret Jones

Student Research Submissions

The election of Donald J. Trump in 2016 was a shock that rippled across America. It came out of the blue and was pushed forward by the most religious sect of the US population. This left many questioning the power that Trump held to sway these voters and convince them of his religious fervor. What many people did not pay attention to was the unique religious background that Trump had. He was raised in the church of Norman Vincent Peale, famed prosperity gospel minister and creator of the “Power of Positive Thinking.” Peale’s teachings revolved around the effect of confidence …

“When White Men And Indians United Shall Praise:” Indigenous Inclusion In The Hartford Music Company, Savannah N. Skaggs

ATU Research Symposium

The Hartford Music Company and Institute of Hartford, Arkansas has attracted increasing academic interest, particularly within the last twenty years. This southern gospel music publishing company and singing school based in southern Sebastian County published a collection of shape note hymnals which boasted some of the genre’s most prolific literature. Though a growing number of Arkansans are learning that these gospel staples came from their own hill country, many do not realize that several of these songs were premiered by or recorded by Indigenous people. While this may not initially seem particularly impactful, this genre developed its own distinct identity …

Are We Wrong: The Symbolic Identity Of The Goat For Azazel (The Scapegoat), D. Houston Beckworth

Campus Research Day

This paper argues that a distinction needs to be made between the goat and the scapegoat (Azazel), and thus the goat’s symbolic identity should also be separate from Azazel. Seventh-Day Adventists and evangelical Christians hold two different views regarding the antitypical identity of the goat for Azazel within Leviticus 16’s account of the Day of Atonement. Adventists focus on the features of Azael to conclude that the scapegoat is Satan. Evangelicals commonly argue that the goat is characteristic of Jesus. Each of them has problematically taught these while merging the goat and scapegoat. However, separating the goat and Azazel resolves …

Winstead, Sara C. (Fa 1413), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project 1413. “The Shaker Chair,” a paper written by Sara Winstead for a WKU folk studies class.

Simmons, Mary Jean (Fa 1412), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project 1412. “Shaker Music as a Genre of Folk Music,” a paper written by Jean Simmons for a WKU folk studies class.

Editor's Introduction, Marc R. Loustau Ph.D.

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction by Managing Editor Marc Roscoe Loustau to Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism in the Age of Pope Francis

Introduction:Towards An Economic Anthropology Of Catholicism, In The Age Of Pope Francis, Samuel Weeks, George Bayuga

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction to Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism, in the Age of Pope Francis.

Augustin And Daniel Bourdeau: Lifelong Evangelists And Missionaries, Denis Fortin

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ecumenical Dialogue Between Reformers And Orthodox Under The Ottomans (15-16th Century), Svetoslav Svetoszarov Ribolov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Despite the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, the Orthodox Church continued to make contacts with the West. In the 15^th and 16^th centuries, Patriarchs Joasaph II and Jeremias II had ecumenical contacts and theological dialogues with two generations of Reformers. Martin Luther and Melanchthon, and later Martin Crusius, Jakob Andrеä, and their associates in Wittenberg took up the initiative for a serious ecumenical dialogue with Constantinople. Despite a sincere desire on both sides, lack of a common methodological framework in the talks did not allow for significant results. In the end, both sides did not …

Review Of Keith Watkins. "Eucharist And Unity: A Theological Memoir." St. Louis, Mo: Christian Board Of Publication, 2023., D. Duane Cummins

Journal of Discipliana

Watkins’ studied grasp of the eucharist (Lord’s Supper, Communion) shaped his thought of it as a fellowship with the living Christ, bringing renewal to the church—and in his writings, his teaching, and in his pastoral ministry, Watkins deemed the eucharist as the focal point of liturgy. He believed the eucharist to be the key to understanding the catholicity of the church—the center of the one faith—and the core around which unity could occur. The eucharist, determined Watkins in Eucharist and Unity, is the means of recalling the sacrifice of Christ, of recovering a fullness of the meaning of church.

Review Of Richard T. Hughes And James L. Gorman, Reviving The Ancient Faith: The Story Of Churches Of Christ In America, 3rd Edition (Grand Rapids, Mi: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2024), Douglas A. Foster

Journal of Discipliana

With skill and insight James Gorman has brought Richard Hughes’s 1996 classic history of the character of Churches of Christ to the present (2022), incorporating new scholarship since the 1980s, adding original material, and streamlining the narrative. In the first edition Hughes developed his interpretive premises in detail with extensive examples in two sections containing fourteen chapters (“The Making of a Sect” and “The Making of a Denomination”). Gorman has crafted a third section (“The Fragmentation of a Denomination”) from material taken from Hughes’s section two, adding an entirely new chapter on the twenty-first century, and reducing the book’s total …

Women Senior Pastors In The Black Baptist Church: A Study Of Pathways To Access And Model For Sustainability, Wendy Vanhosen

Doctor of Ministry

The thesis of this research is that the continued survival and influence of the Black Church hinges on the level of access and sustainability of women in senior leadership roles, emphasizing the historically protected position of senior pastor. It has become urgently necessary to move the needle beyond engaging in the perpetual debate about the role of women in ministry, and towards solutions that address the unique issues of this contemporary era. This era is characterized by a collision of the rise in women occupying senior leadership roles, increases in social justice concerns, and the unanticipated post-pandemic ramifications that have …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 66, No. 1

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 66, No. 1.

This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service.

From The Editor, Robert A. Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

A Deal With The Devil: Pragmatic Mission And Early American Methodism’S Complicity With Slavery, William Payne

The Asbury Journal

Early American Methodism inherited a staunch abolitionist position from John Wesley. Bishops Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke strongly opposed slavery. Under their leadership, the early minutes and disciplines included a series of rules that required preachers to free their slaves and ameliorate the effects of slavery. They also waged an ongoing “war” with the various state legislatures that allowed slavery. After a strong backlash threatened Methodism’s ability to minister to slaves, enter plantations, and work in the South, the church prioritized the evangelistic mandate over the cultural mandate. The compromise mitigated social hostility and allowed Methodism to become the largest …

A Plain Account Of Christian Purity: Berlin Walls, Dean G. Blevins, Marie Gregg

The Asbury Journal

While theological definitions of holiness incorporate purity terminology among several metaphors, the challenges resident in using this language may well impede opportunities of engaging difference and reconciliation. Wesleyans need a “Plain Account” of Christian purity to guide both ecclesial discussions that stress not only strengths, but also limits, in purity thinking. Using an example involving the Church of the Nazarene and Pentecostalism, the writing reveals how purity thinking risks creating “Berlin walls” when engaging differences. The analysis argues that a moral fear of degradation, rather than an acknowledgment of difference, often pushes purity thinkers to oppose certain issues.

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

H.C. Morrison And The Holiness Union Of The South, Robert A. Danielson

The Asbury Journal

Holiness history in the southern United States tends to view the movement as a collection of local or regional churches or institutions without a unified organization. This view often overlooks the work of H.C. Morrison and an organization he founded called the Holiness Union of the South. It began in 1904 and lasted through 1915 and sought to unite the Holiness work in a fashion similar to the National Holiness Association in the northern United States. The Union focused on the areas of mission, education, and publishing- areas which smaller organizations were ill-equipped to operate. While the Union was initially …

“Chieftain, Farewell”: Bishop Matthew Simpson’S Funeral Address To Abraham Lincoln, Samuel J. Rogal

The Asbury Journal

This article reflects back on the historic oration by Methodist Bishop Matthew Simpson at the funeral of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois in 1865. Matthew Simpson was one of the most prominent orators of his day and had built up political connections during the Lincoln Presidency. Bishop Simpson in many ways represents the rising respectability of Methodism in the United States as its influence grew and Methodism became more acceptable among society and in political circles. Simpson even represents a form of Christian nationalism which emerges from his funeral address and the way he portrays the “martyred” president.

The New York Circuit And The City Missions Movement: Temporary Spaces, Quarterly Meeting Collaboration, And Rented Pews, Philip Hardt

The Asbury Journal

It is well-known that, by 1850, the Methodist Episcopal Church had become the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Indeed, camp meetings, dedicated itinerant preachers, and a democratic structure that utilized laypeople helped fuel this explosive growth, especially as Methodism moved westward. Yet, upon closer examination, the church’s growth occurred more slowly, especially in the long-established urban areas on the east coast. This is illustrated by the New York Circuit’s struggle to respond not only to the new “city missions” movement beginning in 1816, but also to new church construction in the other, more prosperous, parts of Manhattan. Although …

Why Did Disciples Anoint With Oil For Healing In Mark 6:13?, Craig S. Keener

The Asbury Journal

This short essay explores the cultural meanings behind the practice of anointing people with oil for healing within the context of scripture. This work is the result of research which is not being published elsewhere due to space limitations, but is considered significant and of interest to many in the Global Church today. While it does not fit the full definition of an academic article, it remains an essay which can clarify and illuminate the issue of anointing with oil for many leaders and laity in the church.

From The Archives: Francis Clark: The Dark History Of Slavery And Methodism In Kentucky, Robert A. Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Glen O'Brien, Zachariah S. Motts, Roderick T. Leupp, Jonathan Tysick, Duane F. Watson, William B. Bowes

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Books Received

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Trauma Informed Theology: A Framework For Developing A Culturally Competent African American Intimate Partner Violence Curriculum For The Pentecostal Clergy, Bridget P. Robinson

Doctor of Ministry

The objective of this dissertation study is to increase the awareness of intimate partner violence (IPV) among Pentecostal clergy. African American women experience higher rates of intimate partner violence in the United States. There are unique risk factors for IPV in the African American community, considering the social and cultural context of the African American experience during colonization and post-colonization. Throughout these experiences, the Black church has consistently served as a steadfast source of hope for the community. However, considering the concerning prevalence of IPV among the African American community, church leaders may not be aware of the profound effects …

Project Portfolio: Cultural Humility: Equipping Ministerial Leaders To Navigate Ever-Changing Cultural Landscapes, Caleb Lu

Doctor of Leadership

In the modern quest for competency, efficiency, and production, humility seems to have been forgotten as a key component to what Christ-like leadership looks like in churches and in ministry. Biblical humility requires one to consider one’s relationship with God2 and one’s relationship with others, as Paul details in Philippians. In interviews with Chinese-Americans in Chinese heritage church contexts, multicultural church contexts, and non-church contexts, the cultural divide between older and younger generations (exacerbated by power dynamics)3 was often highlighted as a main reason they did not feel seen or heard. The need, then, was for church and ministry leaders …