Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Music Of The Divine: Interweaving Threads Connecting Contemporary Chant-Based Piano Repertoire, Jeremy D. Duck

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Creative Work, and Performance

The purpose of this document is to prove chant remains an important source of inspiration among living composers, and, despite the number of piano works already incorporating chant, composers today are still finding unique ways to include chant in their music. To achieve this objective, representative works have been selected for research and analysis for four of the major chant traditions. Connor Chee’s The Navajo Piano, Victoria Bond’s Illuminations on Byzantine Chant, and Hayes Biggs’ E.M. am Flügel: Poem-Étude for Piano Solo, though the chants from which they are inspired are diverse in concept and style, they …

The Intersection Of Consumerism And The View Of The Christian Church In American Evangelicalism, Nathaniel Mumau

Senior Honors Theses

American Evangelicalism is a religious category that describes a wide variety of Christian denominations and their churches in the United States of America. Church attendance overall has declined, and rates of church membership have plummeted even faster. At the heart of this issue is a misunderstanding of the role the local church is meant to play in the lives of Christians. In modern American society, consumerism is essential to every part of living and thus has confounded the view of the church in the lives of evangelical Christians. The church is viewed as a product to be experienced and at …

Networked Religion: Metaphysical Redemption Or Eternal Regret?, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"I’d like to set the tone of this commentary commenting upon the above quotation by Reagan: Can we doubt that war criminals in your administration, under the tutelage of your ‘Reagan Doctrine,’ transformed the country into a harrowing neoliberal horror show starring the nomenklatura of corporate America? They achieved this world-historical assault on the working-class through foreign and domestic policies and acts of clandestine military outlawry that can only provoke a rational mind to contemptuously scoff at your use of the word ‘refuge’ and ‘freedom’ to describe the USA."

Book Review: Introduction To Theology For Ministry, Jeffery S. Gates

Library Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pentecost Journal Of Theology And Mission, Vol.2, No.1, August 2017, J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Kirsteen Kim, William Kay, Andrew Davies, Emmanuel Anim, Ruth Wall, Amos Yong

Pentecost Journal of Theology and Mission

We are pleased to share with you the second edition of the Pentecost Journal of Theology and Mission (PJTM). We are indeed delighted and encouraged by the enthusiastic uptake of our frst issue, July 2016, on Pentecostalism, Migration and World Christianity. An aim of the PJTM is to provide a space for critical reflection on contemporary issues of theology and mission from Pentecostal perspectives that will have practical and transformative impact on the life of the individual, the church and society. The Editors have discovered that such a “space” does not exist without its creation, and the work of creation …

Supplanting The Wrong With The Right: A Synoptic Overview Of Christian And Islamic Reactions Towards The Subject Of Heresy, Brett G. Barnard

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Whenever there is a faith that is claiming to be the “one true religion,” just what is it that defines that most sinister of opposition known as “heresy?” Is it the choices made by these aforementioned “heretics” to hold beliefs that are contrary to the mainstream? Or is the way in which “orthodox” authorities have historically asserted their own superiority while legally eliminating the competition? When overlooking monotheistic belief systems that claim universal theological authority, such as Christianity and Islam, what stands out the most is the fact that the greatest threat almost always comes not from exterior rivals, but …

Five Practical Steps For Increasing Church Membership: A Case Study Of First Baptist Church Of Venice, Florida, Christopher Cornette

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Bible implores Christians to commit themselves to one another for spiritual growth and personal accountability. This valuable mandate is best recognized in the New Testament as the local church. Many church leaders do not aggressively seize the opportunity to engage church attenders in making the church membership commitment. This thesis project will analyze and investigate the church membership growth processes of ten churches in three different denominations. This author will interview in depth the senior staff members as it relates to their effectiveness in moving attenders to church members compared with First Baptist Church of Venice. This church has …

Christians’ Cut: Popular Religion And The Global Health Campaign For Medical Male Circumcision In Swaziland, Casey Golomski, Sonene Nyawo

Anthropology

Swaziland faces one of the worst HIV epidemics in the world and is a site for the current global health campaign in sub-Saharan Africa to medically circumcise the majority of the male population. Given that Swaziland is also majority Christian, how does the most popular religion influence acceptance, rejection or understandings of medical male circumcision? This article considers interpretive differences by Christians across the Kingdom’s three ecumenical organisations, showing how a diverse group people singly glossed as ‘Christian’ in most public health acceptability studies critically rejected the procedure in unity, but not uniformly. Participants saw medical male circumcision’s promotion and …

Reproducing The Capitalist Patriarchy In The Evangelical Christian Sexual Purity Movement: A Feminist Christian’S Concern And Hope, Hannah K. Griggs

Audre Lorde Writing Prize

Through a feminist lens, this essay will explore modern expressions of the conservative evangelical Christian purity movement, including Christian sex manuals, abstinence-only education programs, and purity balls. To begin, I will explain the most important facets of my own feminist theory, which draws from existentialist, socialist, and postmodern feminisms. Using this unique combination of theories, I will attempt to reconcile my deeply held Christian and feminist beliefs about sex. Finally, I will propose a solution that honors both of these important parts of my identity. I assert that the Christian purity movement Others women reinforcing a gender binary, bending to …

The Pneuma Network: Transnational Pentecostal Print Culture In The United States And South Africa, 1906-1948, Lindsey Brooke Maxwell

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exploding on the American scene in 1906, Pentecostalism became arguably the most influential religious phenomenon of the twentieth century. Sparked by the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, the movement grew rapidly throughout the United States and garnered global momentum. This study investigates the original Los Angeles Apostolic Faith Mission and the subsequent extension of the mission to South Africa through an examination of periodicals, mission records, and personal documents. Using the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa as a case study, this study measures the significance of print media in the emergence and evolution of the early Pentecostal movement. …

The Opposition To Latin American Liberation Theology And The Transformation Of Christianity, 1960-1990, Sonia M. Scheuren Acevedo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to explore the political, social and religious opposition to Liberation Theology in Latin America during the 1960s to 1990s, and the transformation of Christianity. During this period, most Latin American countries underwent social struggles and political repression in which opposition and persecution arose from dictatorial and military governments who labeled those committed to the poor as communists. Liberation Theology emerged as an ecclesial and theological trend committed to the poor, in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in Latin America. This thesis traces the origins, development, expansion and repression of Liberation Theology. This work maintains that under …

Reframing The Imperative Of The Great Commission In The Haitian Context: Discipleship Strategies To Impact Haiti For Christ, Dieufort Dieujuste

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Haitians generally identify themselves as Christians. According to World Factbook, Haiti is 80% Catholic and 16% Protestant; however, nearly all the population practices or believes in Voodoo, which is now a national religion. Idolatry permeates every segment of life while the Haitian Protestant Church remains powerless and disengaged. The purpose of this thesis project is to develop key strategies of discipleship for Haiti in view of Matthew 28:18-20. The author proposes to survey 300 Haitian pastors, seminarians, and lay leaders in order to gauge the status of discipleship and to identify hindrances to the gospel in Haiti. The survey will …

(Trans)Cribing History: The Oral Histories Of Transgender Clergy In America, Jae Bates

Summer Research

Popular American rhetoric around religion and LGBTQ issues puts the two at odds. The Bible has been the center of many debates over sexuality, gender identity, and faith. However, very few conversations have included or revolved around the authentic experiences of LGBTQ people of faith. Nine participants from various Protestant backgrounds shared their narratives with me and spoke on issues of gender and faith. This report is an in-depth summary of a short oral history project of transgender clergy (as well as candidates for ordination or exemplary church members).

Review Of 'Republican Theology: The Civil Religion Of American Evangelicals', John Compton

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

"Although I find Lynerd’s characterization of the Christian Right unpersuasive (for reasons explained below), Republican Theology nonetheless performs a valuable service in highlighting the reciprocal influence of religious and political ideas, particularly in the early years of the republic... Lynerd makes a strong case that American evangelicals, while aware of the potential for tension, viewed each commitment as indispensable to the formation of a Godly republic."

Billy Graham Comes To Las Vegas: Faith At Work On The Strip, Michelle Robinson

Occasional Papers

An exploration of Billy Graham’s 1978 Christian Crusade in Las Vegas, this paper argues that the Billy Graham Evangelical Association (BGEA) developed distinctly Vegas-styled evangelical tactics to address challenges posed by the city’s fragile religious infrastructure and competing attractions on the Las Vegas Strip. To organize a spectacular and successful ecumenical event that would garner local and national attention, BGEA simultaneously leveraged popular notions of Vegas as “Sin City” while recruiting Christian evangelicals from beyond the city proper to temporarily transform the religious ecology of the Strip.

Piecing It Together: Spiritual Tinkering From An Orthodox Perspective, R. C. Miessler

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Book Summary: Churches in the U.S. are grappling with unprecedented change. Financial challenges, globalization, the digital revolution and church-dividing topics are taking a toll on the institution and membership. Americans are increasingly not affiliating themselves with any religion, including one third of adults under 30.

In light of all this, what is the future of the churches? In For Such a Time as This: Young Adults on the Future of the Church, Christian young adults offer an invigorating, new, and timely word on issues such as eco-justice, immigration, interfaith relations, peace and justice, and inclusivity of those on the …

After Edwards: Original Sin And Freedom Of The Will, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

Book Summary: Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is widely regarded as one of the major thinkers in the Christian tradition and an important and influential figure in American theology. After Jonathan Edwards is a collection of specially commissioned essays that track his intellectual legacies from the work of his immediate disciples that formed the New Divinity movement in colonial New England, to his impact upon European traditions and modern Asia. It is a unique interdisciplinary contribution to the reception of Edwardsian ideas, with scholars of Edwards being brought together with scholars of New England theology and early American history to produce a …

The Postmodern Church, Timothy C. Lawless

Senior Honors Theses

Within the past twenty years, the Church (especially in America) has experienced dwindling membership and attendance, along with a host of other problems. Many of these problems are symptomatic of a massive cultural shift toward postmodernism, leading to discontentment with the Church. In attempting to respond to these challenges, the emergent Church has arisen as a major element of American religious culture. Their methodology and doctrine is heavily influenced by postmodernism, which presents a further challenge for Christian leaders and ministers. This paper will survey the challenges facing the Church, will describe the emergent Church’s origin and response to these …

Ecocriticism And Christian Literary Scholarship, Timothy J. Burbery

English Faculty Research

This essay presents a case for ecocriticism as a viable critical method for Christian scholars. It begins with an historical overview of the method, then examines common ground shared by ecocriticism and Christianity, including what amounts to a kind of critical realism, and the belief in the inherent goodness of creation. Two potential obstacles are then addressed by way of Lynn White, Jr.'s famous essay, "The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis." These include the relationship of the Bible and the environment, and the charge of anthropocentrism. I believe White is partly right, but contend that neither objection is fatal …

From Nominal To Radical Discipleship: One Church’S Approach To Disciple Making, Wayne Berk Walters

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The majority of mainline denomination churches in America have experienced decline in membership, worship attendance, and vitality for over fifty years. As well, church members’ lifestyles, commitments, and habits tend to be not all that unlike Americans who do not attend church. Many church members live relatively nominal Christian lives when compared to the nature of the Christian life and discipleship described by Jesus in the gospels of the New Testament. This nominal understanding and adoption of the Christian life makes church membership and involvement unnecessary or secondary to the many other demands in modern life. Denominational officials, church pastors, …

Bearing The Marks Of Jesus: A History Of The Christian Reformed Church In Cuba, Eduardo B. Pedraza, Daniel R. Miller

CRCNA Histories

The Christian Reformed Church in Cuba from its origins in Matanzas up to the start of the third millennium of our age: A historical essay based on collected testimonies written by Eduardo B. Pedraza. Translated by Daniel R. Miller

Good Words - May 2007, Vol. 9, No. 1, Brethren In Christ Church In Africa

Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Busani Nkomo, editor of Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Good Words - August 2006, Vol. 8, No. 2, Brethren In Christ Church In Africa

Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Busani Nkomo, editor of Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Good Words - May 2006, Vol. 8, No. 1, Brethren In Christ Church In Africa

Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Busani Nkomo, editor of Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Good Words - August 2005, Vol. 7, No. 2, Brethren In Christ Church In Africa

Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Busani Nkomo, editor of Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Good Words - May 2005, Vol. 7, No. 1, Brethren In Christ Church In Africa

Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Busani Nkomo, editor of Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Good Words - December 2004, Vol. 6, No. 2, Brethren In Christ Church In Africa

Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Busani Nkomo, editor of Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Good Words - August 2004, Vol. 6, No. 1, Brethren In Christ Church In Africa

Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

Busani Nkomo, editor of Good Words / Amazwi Amahle

David Martin, Pentecostalism: The World Their Parish, R. Bryan Bademan

History Faculty Publications

Book review by R. Bryan Bademan.

Martin, David. Pentecostalism: The World Their Parish. Oxford; Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2002.

The Way Of Improvement Leads Home: Philips Vickers Fithian’S Rural Enlightenment, John Fea

History Educator Scholarship

Offers a look at the life of Philip Vickers Fithian, a diarist from southern New Jersey, in an effort to assess the influence of the Enlightenment in the British American colonies. Profile of Fithian; His perception on personal morality and behavior; Political and social issues tackled in his journal; Efforts to reconcile the pursuit of Enlightenment self-improvement with passion and love for home.