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Grounded In Faith: Maintaining And Appreciating A Relationship With God, Oneself, And Others In An Ever-Changing World With New Ears And Eyes, Antoinette Marie Reaves

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The declining Mass attendance and participation in campus ministries at Cabrini University prompted this action research project. It was designed to engage students in guided dialogue defending key Christian doctrines to boost their Mass attendance and deepen their spiritual engagement. By involving seventeen students and employing interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires, and surveys, the intersection of religion and spirituality among young adults was explored. Insights highlighted the participants’ perspectives regarding declining Mass attendance and disengagement from institutionalized religion. Meaningful dialogue around fundamental Christian doctrines, such as God’s existence and Jesus’ death and resurrection, was fostered to motivate students to increase …

Reconciling Moral Dissonance: A Framework For Re-Integrating Moral Orientation With Life Agency During Warfighters’ Struggles With Military Moral Injury, Jeffrey L. Zust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses case studies to critically examine the Three Mirror Model (TMM) as a framework for understanding the formation and healing of Military Moral Injury (MMI). I adapt the work of Stephen Brookfield and Neal Krause to evaluate using the TMM as a methodology for dealing with the complex issues of MMI within a military deployment cycle (training, warfighting, and healing) (Brookfield 2012, 2017; Krause 2022). Specifically, I use theorists, researchers, healers, and warfighters as key stakeholders to identify and critically examine the intersections of disciplines and the subsets of models where warfighters’ moral orientations and moral agency form …

Inciting Peace From The Inside Out, Stephen G. Adubato, Ebere Bosco Amakwe, Katherine Hinic, Sarita Maldjian, Forrest Pritchett, Jon Radwan, Nicholas Sooy, Chad Thralls

Conferences

Violence and war can be incited, and so can peace. This volume shares select addresses and responses from Seton Hall University’s 2/7/23 conference “Inciting Peace From The Inside Out.” A multi-disciplinary range of scholars each addresses how reconciliation processes grow from spiritual dynamics. Multiple religious traditions teach contemplative praxes that prioritize and nurture personal reflection oriented toward peace. Social conflicts divide, so engaging them with a partisan orientation only serves to escalate harmful rifts. In contrast, bringing personal awareness and sensitivity, spiritual balance, and holistic integral perspective to conflict can transcend divisions and work toward unity. This volume is supported …

Intergenerational Factors That Contribute To Millennial Church Engagement, Parker Sanderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Millennial church attendance has declined since the beginning of the new millennium. Intergenerational ambivalence has been known to contribute to this phenomenon. Through this action research, the researcher sought to determine what intergenerational factors have led to millennials’ continued or discontinued attendance within churches. A phenomenological qualitative approach centered around interviews for this study was used to determine these intergenerational factors. The sample was taken from a 1,100-member church in a major Texas metropolitan area. The goal was to help church leaders decrease relational distancing and reduce ambivalent factors to increase millennial engagement in this local congregation.

Review Of Social Justice And Subsidiarity: Luigi Taparelli And The Origins Of Modern Catholic Social Thought, William J. Collinge

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen: A Still And Quiet Conscience, William L. Portier

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Archbishop Denis Hurley: ‘Ecclesiastical Che Guevara’ Or ‘Guardian Of The Light’?, Anthony Egan

The Journal of Social Encounters

Archbishop Denis Hurley, OMI (1915-2004) was a major figure in mobilising the Catholic Church’s struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Rooted in Catholic Social Thought and an active participant and implementer of Vatican II, he led by example, moving the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) into one of the foremost religious defenders of human rights. His theological skills and personal courage translated in ecumenical and interfaith activities that served justice and peace. He supported conscientious objectors and faced prosecution for exposing state atrocities in Namibia.

How Pornography Negatively Impacts Men’S Perceptions Of And Interactions With Women, Christopher J. Pinedo

Selected Honors Theses

This thesis demonstrates the harmful effects that pornography has on men’s perceptions of and interactions with women. The Literature Review examines the current research that illustrate pornography’s negative impacts on men’s perceptions and expectations of women. Common themes occur throughout the literature that reveal how men’s shifting mindsets due to pornography consumption affects how they socialize with women and how their romantic relationships are harmed. Additionally, the thesis discusses the content of pornography and how pornography’s aggressive and violent material may influence men’s sexual attitudes and expectations. There is also the acknowledgement of literature that supports and advocates for pornography …

Mia San Mia: Professional Club Soccer, Religion, And Social Ethics, Rebecca A. Chabot

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For thousands of soccer fans around the world, soccer is their religion. This dissertation marks the first extended examination of what religious soccer is, what it looks like in practice, and how it impacts the lives of fans in the context of professional club soccer. It provides a framework for non-fans to understand how religious supporters view the game and addresses major moments in the development of soccer throughout the world, paying special attention to the difference between the United States and the rest of the world. Religious soccer is then explored in depth, drawing on ethnographic research with over …

Holding Close Both The Wonder And The Wounds, Kevin Timpe

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Brian Brock’s recent Wondrously Wounded is a welcome addition to the growing theology of disability literature. Despite its many virtues, I think Wondrously Wounded runs the risk of distorting the Church’s identity with regard to how it has responded to disability. Drawing on Hilde Lindemann’s work on ‘holding’ and ‘letting go’ of identities, I try to strengthen Brock’s call for the Church. Our collective work toward the realization of the gospel requires that together we hold the Church’s wounds, and not just its wonders, as part of the narrative we recount.

Between Physicalism And The New Dualism: The Moral Relevance Of The Human Body For Catholic Ethics, David J. Demboski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One could argue the remarkable changes to the landscape of Catholic moral theology over the course of the twentieth century were unparalleled in the history of the Church. Animated by anthropological and pastoral concerns, competing schools of Catholic ethicists introduced novel interpretations of natural law that sought to do greater justice to the entirety of the human person, not merely the physical dimension that tended to be emphasized throughout the manualist era. These unique and competing perspectives that emerged in the middle of the 1900s, found in the revisionist school and the New Natural Law Theory school, shaped the topography …

Protest And Politics: A Biographical Theology Of Bayard Rustin, Friendship, Charity, And Economic Justice, Justin Barringer

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

Bayard Rustin is largely an unknown name in theology and ethics, but this dissertation brings him into those conversations with a focus on an ethics of peripatetic friendship as an appropriate response to unjust wealth inequity. I explore how the life of Bayard Rustin, particularly his friendships, was a catalyst for much of the civil rights movement as well as broader justice movements that included charity and economic rights. Rustin, via his friendships, made possible many revolutionary changes in American society and beyond. After examining his life and contributions, I tie his life together with insights from the broader Christian …

University Ethics: The Status Of The Fieldmatthew Gaudet, Matthew J. Gaudet

General Engineering

This paper’s task is to provide a summary of this nascent field at its current state of development. First, I trace Keenan’s work to germinate university ethics as a new field worthy of study. Second, I examine several precursors to university ethics and how these precursors continue to provide fertile soil for the field from which this new field may continue to grow. Next, I survey the current state of the field, identifying where the field has already begun to bloom and bear fruit. Finally, I look to the future of the field, identifying issues that are either already plaguing …

Should We Be Just, Loving Or Both? Understanding The Relationship Of Justice And Love, Edwin B. Odulio

Theology Department Faculty Publications

In this article, I argue that the relationship of justice and love can be seen and understood through the prophets’ message in the Old Testament and in Jesus’ manifestation and proclamation of the Kingdom of God. This relationship is continuously affirmed by the Church, in particular, through its Catholic social teachings. The love for God and God’s people is the essence of the human beings’ commitment to work for justice while living out justice is the concrete manifestation of humanity’s response to their loving relationship with God and one another.

Martin Luther’S Understanding Of Faith In Relation To Infant Baptism, Francis Gayoba

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This article explores Martin Luther’s understanding of faith as a means to reconcile the seeming tension between his emphasis on faith in baptism against Roman Catholicism and his de-emphasis on faith against Anabaptism. This tension is most evident in his support of infant baptism despite his belief in sola fide. It is proposed that Luther’s predestinarian understanding of the sovereignty of God influences his perception of the role of faith in baptism, which emphasizes God’s role and de-emphasizes human acts in the ceremony. Luther argues that human faith, while important for the daily application of baptism, cannot be the …

Mission As Virtuous Practice: A Theology Of Mission Through The Lens Of Virtue Ethics, Michael Niebauer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work uses theological virtue ethics as a guide both for critiquing various models of Christian mission and for constructing a model of mission that adequately addresses these criticisms. The first section of the dissertation (chapters one, two, and three) is devoted to an assessment of three major models of mission, which I have labeled mission as the missio Dei, mission as growth, and mission as dialogue. This assessment generates three recurring issues within the field of missiology that have remained largely unresolved: the problems of distinction, agency, and persuasion. The second half of the dissertation (chapters four, five, …

Natural Law, The Object Of The Act, And Double Effect: Moral Methodology For Catholic Health Care Ethics, Travis Stephens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Veritatis Splendor is the first and only magisterial document that systematically articulates a moral methodology for Catholic moral theology. This dissertation makes explicit the methodological connection between Vatican teaching and the United States Bishops’ Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. The thesis of the dissertation explains the systematic connection between Natural Law, the Moral Object of the Act, and the Principle of Double Effect and by extension the ethical Principle of Cooperation. Second, the thesis applies this complex moral method of official teaching to health care ethics.

Following the introduction, chapter …

César Chávez And Egalitarian Ethics: Lessons From A Contradictory Legacy, Jeremy V. Cruz

Journal of Hispanic / Latino Theology

No abstract provided.

Converting Consumerism: A Liturgical-Ethical Application Of Critical Realism, Benjamin Durheim

Theology Faculty Publications

Critical realism as a lens of thought is not new to theological inquiry, but recently a growing number of theologians have been using its conceptual frameworks to guide their thought on how social structures function theologically, and how ethics might function in light of its insights. This article pulls these developments into the nexus of liturgy and ethics, applying critical realist categories to contemporary understandings of how liturgical celebration (and the structures thereof) form, inform, and/or malform Christian ethical imaginations and practices. The article begins with a brief survey of the main tenets of critical realism and their histories in …

Spiritual Struggle And Gregory Of Nyssa’S Theory Of Perpetual Ascent: An Orthodox Christian Virtue Ethic, Stephen M. Meawad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project utilizes virtue ethics as an especially suitable lens by which to develop an Orthodox Christian ethical model generally. At the same time, virtue ethics carries with it some complexities that are in turn mitigated by the particulars of this Orthodox model—spiritual struggle and perpetual progress, or epektasis. Spiritual struggle in this project, which ultimately shifts the emphasis from virtue’s acquisition to its pursuit, is defined as the exertion of effort in all conceivable dimensions—physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual—with intent to attain a semblance of, knowledge of, and intimacy with Jesus Christ in community, for God …

Tarvainen's "Faith And Love In Ignatius Of Antioch" (Book Review), Paul Hartog

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Journal Of Moral Theology V.8 Special Issue #1, James F. Keenan, Matthew J. Gaudet

General Engineering

The overarching goal of this volume is to attend to the reality of contingency today in light of pertinent Catholic teachings on education, social structures, and economic justice. The essays in this volume will proceed in three parts. Part I is a single essay offered by Keenan that situates the issue of contingency within the broader field of university ethics. The task of Part II is to examine the intricate details and facets of the main subject. To this end, the five authors in this section each offer a snapshot of one of the most glaring concerns regarding contingency today …

Toward An Inclusive Faculty Community, Matthew J. Gaudet

General Engineering

Today nearly three quarters of all college professors work off of the tenure-track, and thus exist in a university structure that was not constructed with them in mind, does not take them seriously, and, ultimately, offers them little more than the most tenuous and temporary of connections. This is hardly the model of a Christian community that the Catholic university aspires to be. Thus, this paper first seeks to unpack the historical legacy of the past four decades of contingent faculty growth, and then, offers a response by drawing upon Catholic Social Teaching and Christian scripture to inform a new …

A Disability Theology Of Limits For Responding To Moral Injury, Lisa Hickman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The lament of Jeremiah, “they dress the wound of my people as if it were not serious,” reverberates today as veterans return home from a decade of war, ridden by PTSD and moral injury, only to discover lethargy, lack of seriousness and complacency in societal response. The seriousness of our soldiers’ wounds, to body and spirit alike, demand ethical, societal and theological responsibility. Failure to address the seriousness of these wounds results in distress, depression and even suicide for the soldier. Statistics may describe a portion of the reality, but the degree to which soldiers suffer in silence and the …

Book Reviews, Spiritus Editorial Board

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

R E V I E W S

• Graham Twelftree, ed. The Nature Miracles of Jesus: Problems, Perspectives, and Prospects. Jeffrey Lamp.
• David K. Bernard. The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ: Deification of Jesus in Early Christian Discourse. Joseph H. Howell.
• Vinson Synan, ed. The Truth About Grace: Spirit-empowered Perspectives. Daniel Thimell
• Margaret English de Alminana and Lois E. Olena, (eds). Women in Pentecostal and Charismatic Ministry: Informing a Dialogue on Gender, Church, and Ministry. Lisa M. Millen.
• Nimi Wariboko, The Split God: Pentecostalism and Critical Theory. David Bradnick.
• Jon Bialecki. A Diagram of Fire: Miracles …

Reflections On The Contingent Workforce At Catholic Colleges, Matthew J. Gaudet

General Engineering

Contingent or “adjunct” professors are highly educated and often excellent educators, yet they are suffering from a nationwide epidemic of low wages, a lack of benefits, poor working conditions, short and sporadic contracts, and—to make ends meet—long commutes that often involve two, three, or even more institutions. This story of contingency on American campuses is fast becoming a well-tread narrative, not only in periodicals that focus on academic life (e.g. the Chronicle of Higher Education, Vitae, Insidehighered.com), but also more recently, in mainstream news outlets as wide spanning as the Washington Post, the New York Times, CNN, Forbes, The Atlantic, …

Catholicism, Ethics And Health Care Policy, Lisa Sowle Cahill

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

On “And Vulnerable": Catholic Social Thought And The Social Challenges Of Cognitive Disability, Matthew J. Gaudet

General Engineering

In light of the ongoing social challenges facing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our time, I want to highlight some underappreciated aspects of Catholic Social Teaching that we would do well to recall. The discussion proceeds in four parts. First, I identify several key contemporary social challenges that continue to face individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Second, I trace the root of those particular challenges to the social forces of industrialization, urbanization, and social Darwinism in the second half of the nineteenth century. Third, on the basis of that historical framework, I argue that the contemporary Catholic …

Tolkien’S Sub-Creation And Secondary Worlds: Implications For A Robust Moral Psychology, Nathan S. Lefler

Journal of Tolkien Research

In his work, “On Fairy Stories,” J. R. R. Tolkien offers a detailed account of what he calls Sub-creation, along with the corresponding notions of Primary and Secondary Worlds. In this paper, I suggest that Tolkien’s concept of Sub-creation can be creatively appropriated in the realm of moral psychology and there applied to the fundamental relationship between self and other – or in Judeo-Christian terms, “I” and my neighbor. Through appeal to Tolkien’s thought and to the wider Christian theological tradition, and in constructive tension with the contemporary psychoanalytic attention to “intersubjectivity,” I attempt to elucidate the power and appropriate …

Cardinal Bernardin: A Framework For Consistency, Katie St. Clair

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay illuminates the tension that exists for many religious people as they consider the appropriate amount of overlap between their personal convictions and public, often political, decisions. Bernardin was the former Archbishop of Chicago and a member of the Second Vatican Council. He made recognizable efforts to enact the doctrines of Guadium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. This document is famous for its declaration that the Church's aim is to "read the signs of the times and interpret them in light of the Gospel." Bernardin exemplified this notion by writing extensively on …