Digital Commons Network^™

Holistic And Holy: An Inward Journey Toward Healing And Wholeness, Chad Mcswain

Doctor of Leadership

There are two ubiquitous challenges to the modern church in North America: declining church attendance and the mental health crisis. This is an opportunity for the modern church to take up the missional imperative by providing access to mental health resources to meet the mental and spiritual needs of those they serve, while creating a positive connection to those who do not currently attend church.

This doctoral project seeks to address both challenges by providing a podcast called, Holistic and Holy, Listener Guide, and website that creates conversations at the intersection of mental health and spirituality. This approach uses traditional …

C. S. Lewis And The Occult Temptation, Thomas Garrett Isham

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Twice in his life C. S. Lewis encountered—and greatly admired—authors involved in occult theory and practice.1 The first such figure was William Butler Yeats, the second, more than two decades later, Charles Williams. Lewis reacted to their occult preoccupations in quite different ways, even while acknowledging his continuing fascination with the subject.

Review Of The Most Reluctant Convert (Play), G. P. Wagenfuhr

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Review of The Most Reluctant Convert, based on the book Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis, adapted by and starring Max McLean. Colorado Springs, Colorado: Pikes Peak Center, 29 June 2019.

Review Of Becoming C. S. Lewis: A Biography Of Young Jack Lewis, Crystal Hurd

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Review of Harry Lee Poe, Becoming C. S. Lewis: A Biography of Young Jack Lewis (1898- 1918) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019). 276 pages + notes and index. $22.99. ISBN 9781433562730.

The Story Of A Half Sovereign, Albert James Lewis

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

An imaginative tale, reminiscent of Dickens, by C. S. Lewis's father, Albert J. Lewis.

Review Essay: C. S. Lewis And The Church. Essays In Honor Of Walter Hooper, Grayson Carter

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

An extended review of Judith Wolfe and Brendan N. Wolfe, eds., C. S. Lewis and the Church. Essays in Honor of Walter Hooper (London, 2001). xi + 193 pages. $110.00. ISBN: 9780567047366

"A Dreadful Thing": C.S. Lewis And The Experinces Of War, Timothy J. Demy

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

From a Christian perspective, war entails the death and killing of people who are all created in the image of God and therefore have inherent dignity and incalculable worth. And yet, even after experiencing war at firsthand, C. S. Lewis believed that war is sometimes justifiable and necessary.

Like others of his generation, Lewis was deeply affected by the experience of war. He lived through the First and Second World Wars, serving as an officer on the Western Front between November 1917 and April 1918. His brother Warren (“Warnie”) was a career officer serving in the British army in both …

Review Of The Making Of C. S. Lewis: From Atheist To Apologist, Crystal Hurd

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Crystal Hurd: Review of Harry Lee Poe, The Making of C. S. Lewis: From Atheist to Apologist (1918- 1945) (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2021). 344 pages, including Notes and Index. $32.99. ISBN 9781433567834.

From Vocal Agnostic To Reluctant Convert: C.S. Lewis And C.E.M. Joad, Joel Heck

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

After a brief consideration of Joad’s life and career this essay will examine the events that led to his return to the Christian faith, and the extent of Lewis’ influence on it. As we will see, Joad and Lewis’ interest in philosophy and the world of ideas, their reading of one another’s work and the mutual respect that emerged out of that effort, their published debate over the issue of theodicy in 1941, their lively debate over the merits of Christianity at the Socratic Club in 1944, and their exchange over the troubling issue of animal pain in 1950, comprise …

Measurement And Assessment Of Grief In A Large International Sample, C. Killikelly, A. Kagialis, S. Henneman, H. Coronado, D. Demanarig, H. Farahani, A.A. Ozdo ̈ Gru, B. Yalçın, A. Yockey, C.L. Gosnell, F. Jia, M. Maisel, E. Stelzer, D. Wilson, J. Anderson, K. Charlesj, J.P. Cummings, C. Faasl, B. Knapp, B. Koneczny, Chris Koch, L.M. Bauer, C. Cuccolo, J.E. Edlund, G.F. Heermanss, S. Mcgillivray, C. Shane-Simpson, A. Staples, Z. Zheng, M.S. Zlokovich, M.S. Irgens

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

Background: In 2022, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and an update of the Diagnostic Sta- tistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5 TR) were released for implementation worldwide and now include the new Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD). The newest definition of PGD is based on robust clinical research from the Global North yet until now has not been tested for global applicability. Methods: The current study assesses the new PGD ICD-11 criteria in a large international sample of 1393 bereaved adults. The majority of the sample was included from the USА. Additionally, we conduct a sub-sample analysis to evaluate …

The United States And The Origins Of The Second World War, Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

This brief but detailed narrative of the origins of World War II evaluates the claims by both Axis and Allied powers that they were fighting a just war.

Fiction Reviews

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Awe In The Helping Professions: Approaching Well-Being For Graduate Trainees Through Transcendent Emotion, Anna Forcelle

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Graduate school is a unique season of life involving high demands and high pressure, leaving adult degree-seeking students vulnerable to stress and negative health outcomes. Students seeking degrees in helping professional programs face additional risks due to the unique amounts of compassion required to engage in others-oriented work, leaving them susceptible to compassion fatigue and burnout. With a recent resurgence in the literature on the self-transcendent emotion of awe, which is associated with greater well-being, this present study sought to examine if experiences of awe can help sustain well-being and reduce the risk of compassion fatigue in helping profession graduate …

A Culture Of Scarcity And A God Of Abundance: Leading A Church Into A Bigger, Better, More Beautiful Story, Jamie Mccallum

Doctor of Ministry

Christians live in the ever-present tension of two competing stories. The first is the story our culture promotes. It is one of scarcity. In this story, there is never enough money, resources, time, or love to go around. The other story is the one God tells in Scripture. It is a story of an abundant Creator who gives more than enough for life, love, purpose, and enjoyment in this world. This paper explores my journey in leading Belfair Community Church away from a mindset of scarcity and into a living theology of abundance. When we truly trust that God is …

Winsome Wounds: A New Perception Of Pastoral Suffering, Stephanie Hurd

Doctor of Ministry

Pastors may view their divine calling as quid pro quo assurance against personal suffering. Yet everyone suffers. Seminaries train pastors in the technical skills required for ministry, but hermeneutics and homiletics do not help a pastor who is wounded. Churchcraft is about thriving as a leader in a church environment and acquiring the navigational tools, experiential knowledge, and soft skills to do so. Section 1 establishes the problem: Misperceptions about typical pastoral suffering, the disorientation it causes, and the lack of tools needed to respond in a productive way. Section 2 presents possible responses such as Stoicism, Legalism, Epicureanism, increasing …

Chapter Two: Quaker Spirituality Of Protestant Spiritual Traditions, Volume 2, Cherice Bock

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

The debate over whether or not Quakers should be categorized as Protestant rages among scholars in Quaker studies as well, although the question is generally posed in the form of original influences on early Quaker leaders. Scholars differ about whether Quakerism grew out of Puritanism, or whether it appeared as a mystical tradition, springing up through spiritual inspiration rather than as a logical evolution of thinking from one group to the next. A third viewpoint sees Quakerism as prophetic, combining mystical personal experience of Jesus Christ and connection to the biblical call for justice through love. This third understanding combines …

Thanksgiving: Facts And Fantasies, Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

No abstract provided.

An Historian’S Christmas, Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

Keywords: Christmas, Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Shepherds, angel, angels, glory, birth of Jesus, Quirinius, Christmas story, peace on earth, good will to men, midnight clear, gospel of Luke, Caesar Augustus, Rome, Roman republic, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Judea, prophecy of Micah 5:2, Israel, Judah, Herod the Great, Messiah, dream, favored of God, Elizabeth, blessed, faith, sanctuary, no room in the inn, stable, Scriptures, Son of God, wrapped Him in a cloth, laid Him in a manger, great light, darkness, good news, great joy, city of David, savior, Christ the Lord, Heavenly Host, Glory to God in the Highest, Luke 2:19, treasured up all …

“I Don’T Want To Hear Your Language!” White Social Imagination And The Demography Of Roman Corinth, Ekaputra Tupamahu

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

This article aims to deconstruct the hidden pervasive whiteness in biblical scholarship and to propose another way to reimagine the linguistic dynamic of Roman Corinth from an Asian American perspective. It highlights the legal and historical interconnectedness of whiteness and the dominance of English. English is a critical marker of whiteness in the United States. In this context, immigrants are expected to conform to and assimilate themselves with whiteness by performing English. This particular racialized context has influenced and resulted in a scholarly historical reconstruction of immigrants in Roman Corinth as “Greek speaking im/migrants.” Immigrants can come from many different …

The Church's Lament: Moving The White Church From Grief Of Complicity To Lament, Kristin Hamilton

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation begins with the presupposition that leaders and members of the white, evangelical church are aware that there is an ongoing racial struggle in the United States, and in the church. Beginning with the theory that the church is in denial regarding historical complicity toward racism and white supremacy, this paper uses Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s Grief Stage model to explore how the white church has become stuck in the early stages of grief (denial and anger). This exploration reviews historic and current examples in which white Christians have been complicit with systematic oppression against Black people and non-Black persons of …

"Do What You Do In The Wisdom Of God": Theological Resources For Quaker Ecological Action In The Writings Of George Fox (Chapter One Of Quakers, Creation Care, And Sustainability), Rebecca Artinian-Kaiser, Cherice Bock

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

In a time when intentional action to care for our planet is of increasing importance, Friends drafted the Kabarak Call for Peace and Ecojustice (2012) to call Quakers to ecological action as an expression of faithfulness. The following work represents one starting point for drawing Friends' awareness to the theology and practice of early Friends in relation to creation by exploring the writings of George Fox. In this essay, we examine Fox's use of the motif of "wisdom," his view of the connection between wisdom and creation, his understanding and experience of the Word of wisdom (that is, Christ), and …

The Apostle’S Creed, Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

Excerpt: "Today, when the problem with the written word is not too little, but too much-- too much that is either a waste of time, vulgar, or blasphemous-- the power of a memorized creed lies in its reminder of the majesty of God, who He is, and our relationship to Him. Some Christians object to creeds, claiming the Bible is all they need. The mistake in this thinking is the idea that a Biblical creed is something outside the Bible, when in fact it is a memorable and valuable expression of Biblical truths that help us explain what we believe. …

Wrestling For The Souls Of The Survivors: Helping Partners Who Are Married To Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, John N. Raymond

Doctor of Ministry

For some who partake in the wonders of marriage, the experiences of pleasant memories and successful challenges mark their dreams in their twilight years. For couples where one or both experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA), marital challenges have far greater negative effect on each of the marital partners—their twilight dreams may not be so pleasant. Although many couples experience setbacks and hardships, for the couple affected by CSA, the setbacks are experienced with greater intensity and duration. This dissertation will highlight research quantifying the negative long-term consequences of CSA. I also will give examples of qualitative research that describes the …

Study Guide For Skeel’S "True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense Of Our Complex World", Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

From the introduction: "Skeel prefers to defend the Christian faith by examining how it explains the truth of human existence more fully than any other system. The result is not a thorough defeat of materialism or materialists. It is rather a gentle apologia that hopefully provides non-Christians cause for interest in Christianity, and Christians a deeper sense of the value and truth of their faith.

This study guide is divided into five parts, each corresponding to a chapter of the book. The book may be easily read one chapter per week for a Sunday School class or Christian book study." …

Study Guide For C. S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity", Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

Dr. Kerry Irish’s study guide for C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity is unique in that it begins with an introduction that explains how Mere Christianity came into being, and also how Lewis became a Christian.

The guide consists of six discussions. It is suitable for use by book groups or Sunday schools as well as individual study. It is compatible with any edition of Mere Christianity, as it follows book and chapter designations rather than page numbers.

Early Quakers And Their Theological Thought, 1647-1723, Paul N. Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

It is with great appreciation to the authors and editors of this important volume on the theological thought of early Friends— Stephen Angell and “Ben” Pink Dandelion—as it fills a gap in the history of Quaker research in much needed ways. While the social histories, political concerns, spiritual interests, and social-action contributions of early Friends have been explored extensively, and while the spiritual experience and the theological contributions of some standout leaders have been explored, the theological convictions and contributions of key Quaker leaders has not been amassed as a collection until now. That being the case, this book stands …

Columbanus And The Easter Controversy: Theological, Social And Political Contexts (Chapter 6 In The Irish In Early Medieval Europe), Caitlin Corning

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

Excerpt: "Determining the correct date for the celebration of Easter involves important theological and practical considerations. Since there was no universal agreement about the manner in which these considerations should be addressed it is not surprising that the dating ofEaster became contentious, causing controversy and conflict in the church for centuries. When Columbanus (d. 615) arrived on the Continent in the late sixth century, he brought with him an older system for dating Easter that was different from the one in use in Rome or the Merovingian churches. Within a few years, the two sides were debating questions of authority …

New Perspectives On Eighteenth-Century British Quaker Women, Edwina Newman, Judith Jennings

Quaker Studies

In the last three decades, research on eighteenth-century British Quaker women reflects a range of different methodological perspectives. Recent studies focus on female spiritual development and sense of identity in the formative seventeenth century. New influences and changing contexts in the eighteenth century, especially Quietism, engendered new themes: a continuing concern with self and collective identity; theology and practices; and participation in the public and private spheres. The experiences and perceptions ofBritish Quaker women in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries reflect the influence of Deism and Evangelicalism. Despite these valuable studies, further research and systematic analysis is needed, …

'What They Seek For Is In Themselves': Quaker Language And Thought In Eighteenth- And Nineteenth-Century American Literature, James Peacock

Quaker Studies

This paper argues that Quakerism was an important influence on a number of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American writers. Looking at the work of, amongst others, Charles Brockden Brown, Robert Montgomery Bird, Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Greenleaf Whittier, it demonstrates that both the stereotyped depiction of Quakers and the use of Quaker ideas, such as the inward light in literature of the period, helped writers tackle some of the paradoxes of democracy in a young nation. The perceived mystery of Quaker individualism is used in these texts first to dramatize anxiety over the formation of American 'character' as either fundamentally …

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, His Life In Brief, Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

This brief 3500-word biography emphasizes Bonhoeffer's theology, spiritual journey, and work in the German resistance until his death in April 1945.