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Reforming Christianity By Reforming Christians: Devotional Writings Of The Late Medieval And Reformation Era, Christopher J. Quail

History Theses

During the late medieval and Reformation era in Europe, a series of Christian devotional works were created that stressed a deeper personal relationship with Christ, rather than ritual and public devotion alone. These works span the time period from the early fifteenth century through the early seventeenth century and prepared the way for and shaped the Protestant and Roman Catholic reformations alike. The devotional works addressed here were created in the quest for reform, of both the individual and the Church. This occurred as the importance of developing a better relationship with Jesus was taking on a new urgency for …

Do Not Grow Bored With Christ: A Week With The Dominicans In Poland, Anthony E. Clark

History Faculty Scholarship

Catholic World Report Article

Millennials: The Unreached In Our Midst. A Practical Theology Of Reaching Millennials Through Organic Church Principles And Repurposing The Church, Janelle Anderson

Master of Arts in Ministerial Leadership (MAML)

There is an unreached people group in your community--you interact with them on a consistent basis, but they are beyond the reach of the Church right now. The Church has missed her opportunity to reach and disciple Millennials as children and is now struggling to connect with them at all. The first step to reaching this people group is understanding them. This thesis presents the three major longings of generalized Millennial culture, in hopes of highlighting ways to interlace individual lives with faith and Christian community. Each of the three cries of this generation has varied implications for the world, …

Shrine Analysis, Anastasia Benko

Architecture Thesis Prep

Shrines are used throughout different cultures to mark graves, sites of importance, and or events that may have occurred, and any number of things that may holds significance to an individual or a group of people. The interest in studying these constructs, however, comes from the shared aesthetic qualities that are utilized in many different families of shrines to create a sense of spirituality, or more specifically, to create a heightened awareness of an individual’s understanding of him/her self. Architecture can learn from the vernacular of shrines in order to understand the inherent spirituality of a structure. This vernacular is …

Generational Inversions: 'Working' For Social Reproduction Amid Hiv In Swaziland, Casey Golomski

Anthropology

How do people envision social reproduction when regular modes of generational succession and continuity are disrupted in the context of HIV/AIDS? How and where can scholars identify local ideas for restoring intergenerational practices of obligation and dependency that produce mutuality rather than conflict across age groups? Expanding from studies of HIV/AIDS and religion in Africa, this article pushes for an analytic engagement with ritual as a space and mode of action to both situate local concerns about and practices for restoring dynamics of social reproduction. It describes how the enduring HIV/AIDS epidemic in Swaziland contoured age patterns of mortality where …

The Development Of Christianity In Contemporary China, Chu Yi Lu

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to study the development of Christianity in contemporary China. It adds to the limited literature that explores how Christianity has developed as the fastest growing religion in China post the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The data derive from semi-structured and focus group interviews with Chinese Christians and field observation notes collected at both official and non-official Christian churches in Beijing. I found an ambivalent attitude toward the development of Christianity across different social levels in China. At the state level, the Chinese government expects Christianity to provide a much-needed stabilizing influence in an increasingly self-centered …

Together We Make Football, Timothy Van Soelen

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"We have paid the culture of sports the ultimate compliment--we study it, we talk about it, we give some of our treasures to it, and we too often imitate it."

Posting about Christians and the role of sports and athletics from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/together-we-make-football/

Rachel Weeping: A Christian Pacifist Reluctantly Endorses Military Strikes Against Isis, Kerry S. Walters

Philosophy Faculty Publications

I'm haunted these days by a scene from Matthew's Gospel. Herod, learning that an infant has been born in Bethlehem who will become "King of the Jews," orders the slaughter of the town's male children two years old and under. Matthew captures the deed's mind-numbing horror by imagining that Rachel, one of the traditional Hebrew matriarchs, "weeps and laments and refuses to be comforted, because her children are no more."

How, I ask myself, would Jesus's followers have acted could they've been in Bethlehem on that frenzied day? Would they have remained silent? Would they have shielded the infants with …

Religious Rhetoric And The Evolution Of George W. Bush's Political Philosophy, Lauren Frances Turek

History Faculty Research

This essay surveys George W. Bush's public statements from 1993 to 2001 to examine the evolution of his religious and political rhetoric. Bush's personal religiosity and his use of religious rhetoric during his campaigns for the presidency and in his two terms in office have received extensive comment from the press as well as from scholars. Yet very little scholarly work has considered the role of religion in his earlier political career. Although Bush had evinced a deep and genuine evangelical faith for years before he launched his bid for the governorship, he did not begin his political career as …

To Lead Like Jesus - An Awesome Responsibility, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this address at the Lead Like Jesus Summit (Four Seasons at Las Colinas - Dallas, TX), Pollard reflects on how he worked to apply the way of Jesus while leading a Fortune 500 company.

How Critical Race Theory Marginalizes The African American Christian Tradition, Brandon Paradise

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article offers the first comprehensive account of the marginalization of the African American Christian tradition in the movement of race and law scholarship known as critical race theory. While committed to grounding itself in the perspectives of communities of color, critical race theory has virtually ignored the significance of the fact that the civil rights movement came out of the Black church and that today more than eighty percent of African Americans self-identify as Christian. In practical terms, critical race theory’s neglect of the Christian tradition has meant that arguments developed in race and law scholarship are sometimes incompatible …

Outline For Interact And Other Talks And Teaching Lessons - Outline Of The Tides Of Life Chapters 1, 2, And 3, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

These pages serve as an outline for various talks Pollard gave as well as for the first three chapters of his The Tides of Life: Learning to Lead and Serve as You Navigate the Currents of Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014).

Outline For Interact And Other Talks And Teaching Lessons - Outline Of The Tides Of Life Chapters 7, 8, And 9, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

These pages serve as an outline for various talks Pollard gave as well as for chapters 7-9 of his The Tides of Life: Learning to Lead and Serve as You Navigate the Currents of Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014).

Outline For Interact And Other Talks And Teaching Lessons - Outline Of The Tides Of Life Chapters 4, 5, And 6, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

These pages serve as an outline for various talks Pollard gave as well as for chapters 4-6 of his The Tides of Life: Learning to Lead and Serve as You Navigate the Currents of Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014).

The Soul Of The Movement (Short Version), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech at the 2014 Faith at Work Summit (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary - Boston, MA), Pollard contends that people represent the only thing of eternal value in the global marketplace. In light of this, he argues that Christians must be service-oriented ambassadors for Christ in the corporate world.

The Soul Of The Movement (Long Version), C. William Pollard, Al Erisman

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech at the 2014 Faith at Work Summit (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary - Boston, MA), Pollard contends that people represent the only thing of eternal value in the global marketplace. In light of this, he argues that Christians must be service-oriented ambassadors for Christ in the corporate world.

Included at the end of the speech is an email from one of the summit's conveners, Al Erisman, and Pollard's handwritten notes.

Love, Creation, Virtue As Models For Environmental Education, Jeff Ploegstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

A look at how love, creation, and virtue should shape our conversations about the environment and environmental education.

Karl Barth's Mozart: Lessons For Christian Music Education, John Macinnis

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

The author considers Barth's thoughful and emotional engagement with Mozart's music and argues that "Christian music educators are in a special place for raising similar questions about music's contributions to human flourishing, its roles in personal progress, and the mysteries of common grace in which God's glory can be sounded from even unknowing servants."

Reconciling Christianity And Paganism, Susanna L. Mills

Student Publications

In her novel "Jane Eyre," Charlotte Bronte works to bring opposing ideas of Christianity and Paganism together to strengthen her protagonist, Jane. Bronte uses symbols of supernaturalism, nature, and the moon to highlight Jane's complex spiritual growth. This essay explores those symbols in conjunction with Christianity and their influences on Jane Eyre as she becomes an empowered woman.

Religious Freedom And American History: Reasons To Thank God, Mark Caleb Smith

History and Government Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

"Nobody With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified": Materialism And Commercialism In Flannery O'Connor's Fiction, Maria Vallas

All Student Theses

Flannery O’Connor was writing in a time of great transition for American society. The 1950s brought with them a post-war economy that was creating a middle class that suddenly had disposal income and leisure time. To O’Connor, this translated into a culture that was becoming increasingly more distracted by the secular and material, and moving farther and farther away from the Christian ideal. This was not simply a cultural phenomenon to her – it was a danger, and more to the point, as a Christian writer, it was a call to arms. O’Connor’s work can be seen as a series …

Pastoral Care: From Past To Present, Ann Marie Kerlin

Ann Marie Kerlin

According to the U.S. National Conference on Mental Health, “Nationally, an estimated 45 million Americans suffer from illnesses like depression, schizophrenia or post-traumatic stress syndrome.” In a speech at this conference, President Obama stated that one out of five Americans experience mental illness in any year. A study published in 2013 surveyed prescription drug use and found that the second most common prescribed drugs were anti-depressants. Obviously there is a great demand for counseling and psychological care in the United States, and both secular and religious approaches to care are available. The purpose of this article is to review briefly …

Facing Christian America's Sacred Ire: Can Christian Historians Successfully Bridge The Gap Between Professional Integrity And Populist Constituency?, Scott Culpepper

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Paper presented at the biannual meeting of the Conference on Faith and History held September 24-27, 2014 on the campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

What Your Body Knows About God: How We Are Designed To Connect, Serve And Thrive, Rob Moll

Alumni Book Gallery

Have you ever had an experience where you felt particularly aware of God? If God is real, and we are created in God's image, then it makes sense that our minds and bodies would be designed with the perceptive ability to sense and experience God. Scientists are now discovering ways that our bodies are designed to connect with God. Brain research shows that our brain systems are wired to enable us to have spiritual experiences. The spiritual circuits that are used in prayer or worship are also involved in developing compassion for others. Our bodies have actually been created to …

Cybertheology: Thinking Christianity In The Era Of The Internet, Antonio Spadaro S.J., Maria Way

Religion

How has Christianity and theology changed in the wake of the internet and mass communication? Tracing concepts in media studies, anthropology, and theology, Spadaro investigates this complex and enlightening topic.

Harry Potter As A Piece Of Apocalyptic Fiction, Cambria Findley-Grubb

e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series remains one of the most popular series ever created, loved by adults and children alike. The Harry Potter series has been translated into over thirty languages in more than one hundred and thirty countries (Killinger 2). This series has spawned a billion dollar industry eight movies, merchandise including shirts, cloaks, wands, and bobble heads, an intercollegiate muggle quidditch league, and a multimillion-dollar amusement park attraction However, despite its increasing popularity and fandom, Harry Potter remains a highly controversial book among fundamentalist religious groups because of its involvement in the world of witches, wizards, and magic. …

Creativity And Captivity : Exploring The Process Of Musical Creativity Amongst Indigenous Cosmopolitan Musicians (Icms) For Mission, Uday Mark Balasundaram

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Revitalizing Missions On The Cusp Of Change : Complex Systems Science Mazeways For Mission Theory Amid Twenty-First Century Realities, Samuel K. Law

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Lord Is There: Christian Views Of The Temple In The First Century Ad, Jonathan Wells

Masters Theses

During the first century, Yeshua (Jesus) and the original Christians viewed the temple as God's dwelling place on earth. Informed by the Hebrew Bible, which they saw as the Holy Scriptures, they continued to hold the temple in high regard. The writings of the New Testament display the thoughts of the first Christians and the teachings of Yeshua concerning their understanding of the Jerusalem temple. This study explores the views of the temple in the New Testament and other Christian writings from the first century to demonstrate that most Christians and especially the writings of the New Testament continue to …

Business As A Calling, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech at Moody Bible Institute's Luncheon Lectureship, Pollard outlines his vision for the integration of faith and work, the foundation of which is the ability to see the latter as a calling from God.