Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Evaluating The Efficacy Of The Christian Reformational Transcendental Model Of Art Criticism As A Literary Theory Through Albert Camus’S The Stranger, Elizabeth Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The subfield of art criticism and theory within Christian reformational philosophy, a descendent of the neo-Calvinist theology developed through the work of Dutch Reformer Abraham Kuyper and others, is becoming increasingly diverse. Recently, scholars such as Leland Ryken, Glenda Faye Mathes, and Philip Graham Ryken have built upon twentieth-century theologian Francis Schaeffer’s worldview approach by popularizing a transcendental model of art criticism, an approach that applies the transcendentals of truth, goodness, and beauty to works of art. However, the transcendentals, while widely discussed in the fields of philosophy, theology, and, to a lesser extent, art theory, have not been explicitly …

Stanley Hauerwas' Approach To Christian Marital And Sex Ethics: A Review And Speculative Expansion, Jeffrey A. Schooley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few places in congregational and denominational life are more fraught with tension and division than conversations about marital and sex ethics. Systemic abuses mingled together with individual failures on this issue has led to confusion, conflict, and chaos. Worse yet, the remedies proposed—and they are many—tend to either double down on “Traditional” values or seek massive reformation of Christian convictions in light of Modern philosophical, anthropological, and sociological presuppositions. Interlocutors quickly come to an impasse and fragmentation occurs. The catalyst for these conflicts is often debates over same-sex marriage, but one does not have to wade far into this conversation …

Identity And Resistance: Queer Puerto Rican Subjects, Pentecostalism, And The Shadow Of U.S. Imperialism, Jared Vázquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

James K.A. Smith argues that the first principle of Pentecostalism is that the same Holy Spirit described in the New Testament is !actively, dynamically, and miraculously present both in the ecclesial community and in creation” today. This ontological experience of the Holy Spirit transforms Pentecostalism into a hermeneutic thorough which Pentecostals interpret their social world. In his attempt to articulate a Pentecostal epistemology Smith leaves implied what this project seeks to make explicit: the emergence of subjectivity is mediated through the experiences of the body and is therefore affective and phenomenological in nature. I argue that pentecostal spiritual practices are …

Talk This Way: A Look At The Historical Conversation Between Hip-Hop And Christianity, Joshua Swanson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Christianity and Hip-Hop culture are often said to be at odds with one another. One is said to promote a lifestyle of righteousness and love, while the other is said to promote drugs, violence, and pride. As a result, the public has portrayed these two institutions as conflicting with no willingness to resolve their perceived differences. This paper will argue that there has always been a healthy conversation between Hip-Hop and Christianity since Hip-Hop’s inception. Using sources like Hip-Hop lyrics, theologians, historians, autobiographies, sermons, and articles that range from Ma$e to Tipper Gore, this paper will look at the conversation …

Separating God's Two Kingdoms: Regular Baptists In Maine, Nova Scotia, And New Brunswick, 1780 To 1815, Ronald S. Baines

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The trans-national Regular Baptist tradition in the northeastern borderlands of Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick grew rapidly from 1780 to 1815. The spiritual imperatives of this Calvinistic group with its commitment to believer’s baptism of adults and closed communion churches made them distinctive, and a central argument here is that the worldly implications of “Two Kingdom” theology, founded on the strict separation of religious and civil realms, was central to Regular Baptists’ success in the region in this period. Three leading ministers whose actions as authors, itinerants, and as organizational leaders receive especially close attention: Maine-based ministers Daniel Merrill …

"En El Poder Del Espíritu": A Qualitative Research Study On Social Ethics/Theology Among U.S. Latina/O Pentecostals, Néstor A. Gómez Morales

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Are most US Latina/o pentecostals concerned about sharing the gospel without having any interest in the reality of oppression, discrimination, and marginalization? Are they just dancing and singing in their temples, having ecstasies and emotional experiences while ignoring the poor and their social struggle? Many scholars see US Latina/o pentecostalism as a tradition with an anemic social ethic, one that lacks any significant interest in the needs of the poorest in society. However, new research on progressive pentecostals shows a different panorama. The theological perspectives and social ethics of a vast sector of US Latina/o churches have changed considerably since …

From "Most Useful Book" To Scriptura Non Grata: Canon, Ecclesiastical Constrictiveness, And The Loss Of The Shepherd Of Hermas In Early Christianity, Robert Donald Heaton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With its roots in the first century CE and claims to special revelation from various apparitions, the Shepherd of Hermas portended an alternative Christian trajectory to the prevailing Christocentrism. But some in the second, third, and fourth centuries also deemed it compatible with the synoptic Johannine-Pauline metanarrative for Christianity, such that prominent bishops Victorinus, Eusebius, and Athanasius labored to depict it outside the scriptures of the New Testament. While their data and other early patristic writings presage the Shepherd's frequent appearance among scholarship on the biblical canon, this often manifests as little more than a curiosity, absent a proper …

"Femme Fatales Of Faith": Queer And "Deviant" Performances Of Femme Within Western Protestant Culture, Kelsey Waninger Minnick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Women and queer folk are changing the religious landscape of Christianity in America, and the scope of visibility for these figures and their apostolic endeavors is widening as more and more Christians are seeking out communities rooted in doctrines of love and connection rather than exclusion and hegemonic piety. Thinking on this phenomenon, this dissertation focuses on the intersectional dilemmas of faith practice and rhetorical discourse with Western Christianity, particularly as it revolves around those female pastors and clergy - considered "dangerous" by many within the church - who are advocating for a more inclusionary church space. By conducting a …

Social Belonging And Built Space: Using Contact, Contention, And Common Conditions To Create Multicultural And Multifaith Shared-Space In A Repurposed Aurora, Colorado, Church, Kassandra Irene Soppas Neiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Global patterns of human displacement and migration are diversifying the user base of urban churches. This change produces new settings of cross-cultural encounter and adaptation of social space. This study examines the transition of a Lutheran church into a multifaith and multicultural community center. In Aurora, Colorado, a majority-minority city, the facility offers vital support for immigrants, refugees, and low-income community members while maintaining links with [previous] congregants. Using ethnographic methods, I explore the cultural dimensions of repurposed space for a diverse constituency. Discussed herein are the ways in which the physical space is interpreted, how contention and divergent experiences …

Postwar Churches Of Christ Mission Work: The Philippines As A Case Study, Brady Kal Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There was a large increase in the number of Churches of Christ missionaries and missionary efforts following World War II (WWII). There were also significant changes and developments in American religious culture following WWII—Churches of Christ were not exempt from these changes. This study examines the question of how postwar developments in American religion influenced missionary efforts of American Churches of Christ by looking at examples of American missionaries in the Philippines.

The study relies heavily on primary sources, including letters and news reports from archival collections, Churches of Christ periodicals, and email correspondence with people familiar with the main …

21st Century Trends In Conversation Concerning Women’S Roles In The Stone-Campbell Movement: 2000–2017, Wesley Collin Racca

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the trends in conversation concerning women’s roles within two streams of the Stone-Campbell Movement, the Churches of Christ and the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, within the twenty-first century. In addition, it explored possible answers to the emerging questions from the study through thoughtful analysis, comparison, and observation of the present trends in conversation. The data were accumulated, organized, charted, and analyzed by researching every article and issue of the primary publication of each stream, The Christian Chronicle and The Christian Standard, to gauge the intensity and attention given to the issue. While there were no significant answers …

A History Of Nondenominational Churches In Denver And Beyond, 1945–2000, R. Norton Herbst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From 1945-2000, nondenominational churches in America developed from a scattering of independent congregations to one of the largest groups of churches in the nation. Few scholars have studied these churches as a cohesive movement. And many think they burst onto the American scene around the 1990s, though statistics suggest otherwise. Two questions, therefore, need to be addressed: What is the historical genealogy of nondenominational churches in modern America? And, is there a recognizable nondenominational church identity?

This study explores these questions in three ways. First, I survey the origins and development of Protestant denominationalism from the Reformation through the early …

The Pulpit And The People: Mobilizing Evangelical Identity, Tim Moser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using ten sermons from five prominent and politically active evangelical megachurch pastors taken from the 2016 presidential campaign season, this case study utilizes frame analysis to understand the political relevance of modern evangelical sermonizing. An inductive frame analysis allows the concept of a collective action frame to be observed as a process and for patterns to emerge from the source text. Within these sermons, ministers offer self-identifying evangelicals a vocabulary with which to understand and describe their own identity. In this context, the Bible is a powerful cultural symbol that represents an allegiance to traditions that are framed as the …

Cognitive And Emotional Processes Involved In The Experience Of Objects As Holy Or Transcendent, Lotte J. Pummerer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, attitudes about religion/spirituality have become more pluralistic (Pew Research Center, 2015a). At the same time, the number of individuals who identify themselves as nonreligious, atheist or agnostic are growing (Pew Research Center, 2015b), yet we are lacking words and research to describe their attributions of transcendence in language not bound to religious concepts. This study aims at examining both concepts – holiness and transcendence – in their similarities and differences through assessing cognitive and emotional processes involved in experiences of objects.

The study consisted of two parts with a total of 206 Christian and 52 nonreligious/atheistic/agnostic participants. …

‘Untruths And Propaganda’ – Churches Of Christ, Darwinism, And The 1985-1986 Acu Evolution Controversy, Paul A. Anthony

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1985-1986, Abilene Christian University endured what one observer called the worst attack in “size, nature and intensity” on a university affiliated with Churches of Christ. The flashpoint was whether two biology professors were teaching evolution as fact without refutation. The university denied it, but the controversy raged for two years. Left unanswered was the most basic of questions: Did ACU professors actually teach evolution without a creationist rebuttal? Which leads to another: Why in 1985 – 130 years after the publication of On the Origin of Species and 60 years after ACU had fired a professor who questioned readings …

Classical Pentecostal Interpretation Of The Gift Of Discernment From 1914 To 1941, Stephanie Ann Rose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From the beginning of the Pentecostal Movement in 1906, Pentecostal meetings were plagued by what they labeled “counterfeit manifestations.” These manifestations were creating negative consequences for the movement and Pentecostals needed a strategy that would identify and eradicate them from their meetings. Because Pentecostalism was in its infancy, it did not have a clear procedure to assist in identifying counterfeit manifestations, to determine how they operated, and/or who or what produced them. Over time they began to form assumptions regarding the operation of counterfeit manifestations and developed several strategies that they hoped would counteract their presence in meetings, one of …

Searching For Truth(Iness): Mapping The Religio-Political Landscape And Identity Of Christian Emerging Adults Through A Reception Study Of The Colbert Report, Jill Elizabeth Dierberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing textual analysis and in-depth interviews of self-identified Christian participants ages 18-35 (n=20), this dissertation explores the way Comedy Central's The Colbert Report portrays Christianity, how young Christian viewers negotiate their religio-political identity in relation to the show, and what this negotiation says about the religio-political landscape of Christian emerging adults (19-29) (Arnett, 2004) in the United States. I conclude that The Colbert Report provides a contextual occasion for critical religio-political reflection, and that Christian emerging adults of myriad Christian subcultures negotiate their religio-political identity in relation to The Colbert Report to varying degrees as they select differing reference points …

Encountering The Religious 'Other': Limitations Of Confining 'Religious' Conversation In Interreligious Dialogue In Denver, Adam Buchanan Westbrook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963).

Technology, the Internet, and the ability to communicate with one another instantaneously in any place on the globe, at any point in time have made Dr. King's remarks increasingly evident in the 21st century. We now have the unprecedented ability to communicate with people of all groups, all over the world, but are lacking the proper tools for understanding them. The interreligious dialogue movement has strived to utilize religion as one …

A Church Growth Study Of Churches In North East India, Clinton Brazle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Church of Christ in North East Indian began as an indigenous movement among the Khasi tribe as an effort to restore New Testament Christianity. The movement is under fifty years old. It grew normally and rapidly until division occured among the leaders in 1963, when the growth rate dropped drastically. The movement has spread now to the Garos, Mizos, Mikirs, Nagas, Assamese, Kukis, and especially the Paites and Manipuree. There is a growing ethusiam among a few Christians which may eventually spread through many of the tribes of North East India and beyond.

Examination of the above-mentioned tribes of …