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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Inciting Peace From The Inside Out, Stephen G. Adubato, Ebere Bosco Amakwe, Katherine Hinic, Sarita Maldjian, Forrest Pritchett, Jon Radwan, Nicholas Sooy, Chad Thralls Jun 2024

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 …


The Lived Experiences Of Secondary Christian School Administrators As They Work To Foster An Environment Conducive To Student Biblical Worldview Development: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Margaret E. Pope May 2024

The Lived Experiences Of Secondary Christian School Administrators As They Work To Foster An Environment Conducive To Student Biblical Worldview Development: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Margaret E. Pope

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of Christian school secondary administrators as they foster an environment conducive to student biblical worldview development. The theory guiding this study is Leithwood’s iteration of transformational leadership, as it recognizes the influential role school leaders play in the motivation and growth of teachers. Additional consideration of Erdvig’s model of biblical worldview development in evangelical Christian emerging adults was used as the conceptual framework recognizing that the faith elements of worldview formation are unique and relevant to the topic of the study. The central research question was: What …


God Of The Whole Earth Ministry Church Project: Equipping Church Members To Engage Their Community, Christopher Stevens May 2024

God Of The Whole Earth Ministry Church Project: Equipping Church Members To Engage Their Community, Christopher Stevens

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The God of the Whole Earth Ministry (GWEM) Church study investigated how church members can gain confidence to share their faith when properly equipped. Sharing the gospel with others can be a problem for some people. Generally, the lack of skills and knowledge is the biggest problem for some people to share their faith. GWEM Church members were not equipped to share their faith. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to equip participants to share their faith. Skills were taught to help participants develop and use those skills to start meaningful and practical conversations to open up a dialogue …


An Exegetical Evaluation: Believers’ Differential, Works-Based Heavenly Rewards In The New Testament, Emma Griffith May 2024

An Exegetical Evaluation: Believers’ Differential, Works-Based Heavenly Rewards In The New Testament, Emma Griffith

Masters Theses

While no Bible-believing Christian would deny that salvation comes only through the work of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, several New Testament passages appear to teach that there will be additional, works-based heavenly rewards. This interpretation has become somewhat of a default position within modern Christianity, especially American Christianity. Moreover, it has had very few scholarly challengers, and none have done so from a contextually-based exegesis of the relevant NT texts. Therefore, this thesis exegetes the major NT texts to argue that these specific passages do not teach varying, proportional heavenly rewards for believers in the eschaton, but rather that …


A New Testament Theology Of God As Father (Abba) As The Hermeneutical Key To The Teaching Of Christ On Prayer In The Gospels, John Joseph Schmelzer May 2024

A New Testament Theology Of God As Father (Abba) As The Hermeneutical Key To The Teaching Of Christ On Prayer In The Gospels, John Joseph Schmelzer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

When Jesus of Nazareth lifted His eyes to Heaven in Matthew 6:9 and taught His disciples to address Yahweh, the covenant God of Judaism as Father (πατήρ, אַבָּא), this was an offense of blasphemy and presumption culpable of death for His Jewish audience; unless it was true (John 5:18). Not only was Father the distinctive and unique term given to God by Jesus, but there is almost universal scholarly consensus that behind the Greek πατήρ is the Aramaic Abba (Αββα, אַבָּא) (Mark 14:36). In both the ANE and Jewish contexts of the Old Testament and first-century Israel, it was unparalleled …


Spiritual Disciplines And Mental Resiliency: The Effectiveness Of Spiritual Coping Mechanisms To Decrease Anxiety And Depression Symptoms, Alysa Lynn Vanderweerd May 2024

Spiritual Disciplines And Mental Resiliency: The Effectiveness Of Spiritual Coping Mechanisms To Decrease Anxiety And Depression Symptoms, Alysa Lynn Vanderweerd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The outcome of anxiety and depression’s symptomology is an ever-rising global economy cost of 1 trillion U.S. dollars, due to medical costs and loss of productivity, leading researchers and clinicians to search for effective cost saving solutions (Chodavadia et al., 2023). Religion/Spirituality (RS) based cognitive therapy treatments are recognized in alleviating maladaptive behaviors and cognitive distortions, offering comfort to the afflicted, hope and belief that God is available for the seeker (Ramos et al., 2018). Therefore, the researcher conducted an internet-based, self-paced intervention of a mixed methods study of a 40-Day Biblical Worldview Educational Treatment Program of a convenience sample …


A Correlational Study Of Culturally Responsive Christian School Leadership And Its Impact On Culturally Marginalized Students, Denecia B. Anderson May 2024

A Correlational Study Of Culturally Responsive Christian School Leadership And Its Impact On Culturally Marginalized Students, Denecia B. Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2022), the Private School Universe Survey (PSS) was given and disclosed that 4.7 million students were served in private elementary and secondary schools in the fall of 2019. Approximately twenty-five percent of private schools in the United States of America are considered conservative Christian schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). Within the conservative Christian schools, 0.7% of the students were American Indian, 5.3% were Asian, 68.6% were white, 11.2% were Black, 9.2% were Hispanic, 0.8% were Pacific Islander, and 4.3% were two or more races. Diversity in conservative Christian schools is …


Mentoring As A Catalyst For Change: Creating A Mentor Training Curriculum Using The Servant Leadership Model, Alana S. Freeman May 2024

Mentoring As A Catalyst For Change: Creating A Mentor Training Curriculum Using The Servant Leadership Model, Alana S. Freeman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation-in-praxis was a response to the problem of a lack of youth involvement at Warren Chapel United American Free Will Baptist (UAFWB) church in Winterville, NC. The Collaborating Coach, Pastor Betty Haddock, and the Collaborating Team were concerned about the church's future amid its aging congregation. The importance of investing in the spiritual formation of the younger generation in preparation for them being mature successors of current leaders is a principle reflected throughout Scripture. The Bible encourages the older generation to teach the younger generation about Godly principles so they will retain what they have learned when they are …


Evangelism Development In A Multigenerational Rural Church, John E. Baldwin May 2024

Evangelism Development In A Multigenerational Rural Church, John E. Baldwin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Berea Baptist Church in Rockville, VA lacks a multigenerational means of evangelism.


Ego Eimi And The Surpassing Greatness Of Jesus Christ In The Gospel Of John, Keith Kekoa Pang May 2024

Ego Eimi And The Surpassing Greatness Of Jesus Christ In The Gospel Of John, Keith Kekoa Pang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

When it comes to the "ἐγὼ εἰμι" statements (translated as "I am" in English), in the Gospel of John, there has been a heavy emphasis from scholarship on the seven declarations which contain a metaphor. These are the ἐγὼ εἰμι statements such as “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, English Standard Version) or “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). However, there are seven other ἐγὼ εἰμι statements in John’s Gospel which do not contain a metaphor, such as, “I who speak to you am he” (John 4:26, emphasis mine). Consequently, scholars have tended to separate …


Community Formation And Effective Leadership In African American Churches In High-Poverty Communities, Kevin Laron Moore May 2024

Community Formation And Effective Leadership In African American Churches In High-Poverty Communities, Kevin Laron Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

African American church traditions were reputable for serving “the least of these" (Matthew 25:35 - 46) (TLOT) through intentional, Bible-based community fellowship and relationship. However, African American churches are moving away from community ministries to inside worshiping that does not fulfill God's agenda. As a result, the phenomenon of serving in isolation versus serving through community formation is incrementally deviating from the biblical worldview. This qualitative phenomenological study explores, community formation and effective leadership in African American churches in high-poverty communities in the aggregate city of Newark, NJ. This research aims to explore community formation and effective leadership in African …


Bridging Faith And Restoration: A Phenomenological Study Exploring Evangelical Pastors’ Experiences Ministering To Congregants With Trauma In The Greater Toronto Area, Lindsay Knox Mcvety May 2024

Bridging Faith And Restoration: A Phenomenological Study Exploring Evangelical Pastors’ Experiences Ministering To Congregants With Trauma In The Greater Toronto Area, Lindsay Knox Mcvety

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand how evangelical pastors in the Greater Toronto Area describe their experiences with discussing trauma with congregants and their experiences with trauma-informed care in the church. The theory guiding this research is Transformative Learning Theory (TLT). As discussed by Mezirow (1991), TLT explains transformation occurs by increasing knowledge by learning about topics where outdated or misinformed concepts previously existed. The main research question is, how do evangelical pastors in the Greater Toronto Area describe their experiences ministering to congregants who have experienced trauma? Further sub-questions ask, how do evangelical pastors in …


A Phenomenological Study Of Clergy Hindrances To Seeking Help And Implementing Self-Care, Kerri S. Wilson May 2024

A Phenomenological Study Of Clergy Hindrances To Seeking Help And Implementing Self-Care, Kerri S. Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative transcendental phenomenological study aimed to identify and understand clergy members’ described hindrances to seeking help and implementing self-care for overcoming burnout. The theory guiding this study was transcendentalism from Husserl’s ontological approach to phenomenology. The United Pentecostal Church, International (UPCI) organization was chosen as the site for this study because the participants were clergy members licensed by the UPCI religious organization who had experienced burnout and hindrances to seeking help and implementing self-care. Participants included twelve UPCI clergy members. Data collection involved one-on-one initial interviews with each clergy member and follow-up interviews for clarification where needed. Data analysis …


Beyond The Pulpit: A Quantitative Analysis Of Midwest Church Leaders' Confidence And Competence In Addressing Sexual Trauma, Eryka Mcmillan May 2024

Beyond The Pulpit: A Quantitative Analysis Of Midwest Church Leaders' Confidence And Competence In Addressing Sexual Trauma, Eryka Mcmillan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study investigates the interconnectedness of confidence and competence within the context of Midwest church leaders in addressing survivors of sexual trauma. Sexual Trauma encompasses crimes like sexual assault, rape, and sexual abuse, and it presents complex challenges within faith communities. This research employs an ordinal logistic regression, combining a survey instrument to assess leaders' confidence, known as the Readiness to Work with Trauma-Exposed Patients (RTEPS), and a comprehensive tool to measure competence, referred to as the Trauma-Informed Care Questionnaire (TICQ). Additionally, demographic factors, including race, age, gender, denomination, previous trauma training, and years of ministry experience, are analyzed …


Salvation May Just Be A Click Away: A Case Study In The Impact Of New Media Communications In The Evangelical Church In The Bible Belt, Robert Montgomery Peerson May 2024

Salvation May Just Be A Click Away: A Case Study In The Impact Of New Media Communications In The Evangelical Church In The Bible Belt, Robert Montgomery Peerson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This was an exploratory qualitative case study into the usage of new media in the evangelical church within the context of the Bible Belt region of the United States. The problem with the current status of new media communications within the evangelical church is that some churches seem to struggle with using these mediums successfully. The purpose of this study was to gather information on how churches are using new media communications in their environment and equip churches with greater knowledge and tools on how to leverage new media communications to grow the Kingdom. This study features three main research …


A Phenomenological Study Of Discipleship Experiences In Hartsville, Sc, Baptist Churches, Robert W. Stuckey May 2024

A Phenomenological Study Of Discipleship Experiences In Hartsville, Sc, Baptist Churches, Robert W. Stuckey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Catchy quotes could describe an identified problem, but none were used here. Eternity is what is at stake. The American church is in trouble. Discipleship has been ineffective inside and outside the church for growth in the kingdom of God. This phenomenological qualitative study was performed to understand the discipleship experiences of pastors and mature Christians. The setting of this study was Hartsville, South Carolina, area Baptist churches. This study utilized semi-structured interviews to obtain data. The population was twelve mature Christians, comprised of a lead pastor and two mature Christians from four selected churches. The instrument utilized was two …


The Divine Comedy: A Work Of Medieval Mythology, Jamie Alexander May 2024

The Divine Comedy: A Work Of Medieval Mythology, Jamie Alexander

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Prior to The Divine Comedy (1308-1321), ideas about Purgatory were in the early stages of development. Purgatory had loose rituals surrounding its existence and it lacked depiction in written works. Yet in the following centuries, the fear of Purgatory and the practices of penance and indulgences reached a fever pitch, ultimately leading to the Protestant Reformation. Purgatory as a celestial location, and not just the “purgatorial fires” of the Bible, only began to develop in the twelfth century, but its fearful description and imagery in The Divine Comedy not only solidified previously nebulous understandings of Purgatory, but also increased anxiety …


The Insufficiency Of The Causal Mechanisms Of Scientific Naturalism, Aaron R. Crosby Apr 2024

The Insufficiency Of The Causal Mechanisms Of Scientific Naturalism, Aaron R. Crosby

Masters Theses

Chance and physical necessity, serving as the two accepted causal mechanisms of scientific naturalism, are incapable of explaining the origins of gravity, the gravitational constant, and other fine-tuning parameters associated with Big Bang Cosmology. This thesis explores the origins of Scientific Naturalism, the discovery of fine-tuning parameters associated with Big Bang Cosmology, and several theories proposed under the paradigm of scientific naturalism that attempt to explain, through either chance or physical necessity, how the universe originated.


A Contemporary Pauline Apologetic Toolkit, Jayne Bertovich Apr 2024

A Contemporary Pauline Apologetic Toolkit, Jayne Bertovich

Masters Theses

This thesis recounts that societal history is repeating itself in modern times whereby there is a pattern of similarity with the Millennials and Generation Z and ancient audiences of the Apostle Paul in terms of paganism and humanism at the forefront of hearts and minds pushing back on Christianity (albeit today’s exposure to post-modernism and digital influences do not present in the ancient world of the Apostle Paul). Similarly, the ancient world was interested in the advances of its day of science and philosophy. The Millennials and Generation Z population, a majority of the population globally, are ripe for the …


A Phenomenological Study Of Female Master Of Divinity Graduates' Experiences And Role Incongruity At Texas Baptist Seminaries, Michele Lee Taylor Apr 2024

A Phenomenological Study Of Female Master Of Divinity Graduates' Experiences And Role Incongruity At Texas Baptist Seminaries, Michele Lee Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Women pursue Christian education, obeying God’s call to prepare for ministry leadership. This qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological research study aimed to examine the perspectives of women graduates from Master of Divinity (MDiv) programs at Baptist Seminaries in Texas and to discover if their treatment could be linked to traditionally held beliefs about gender. The lived experiences of the study participants were defined as their first-hand accounts and perceptions of interactions with their male classmates and professors. The theory that guided this study was the Role-Congruity Theory, defined by Eagly and Diekman (2005) as aligning a group’s characteristics with their typical social …


How To Create Things With Words: Identifying The Performative Speech Acts Of God’S Spoken Words In The Genesis 1 Creation Account, Ivan C. Yu Apr 2024

How To Create Things With Words: Identifying The Performative Speech Acts Of God’S Spoken Words In The Genesis 1 Creation Account, Ivan C. Yu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Speech Act Theory is a branch of linguistics that explores not only how language is used to convey meaning, but also how it is used to perform actions or functions. In recent decades, it has been applied as a viable hermeneutical tool to aid biblical interpretation and defend the inerrancy of Scripture. Identifying the speech acts of the biblical author or speakers in the biblical narratives can be useful to understand the meaning and intention of the utterances, phrases, and words spoken. In the Genesis 1 creation narrative, God spoke words to create the universe. While adopting a canonical approach …


Equipping Local Pastors To Develop A Comprehensive Chaplaincy Ministry For The Cullman County Sheriff's Office, Matthew W. Smith Apr 2024

Equipping Local Pastors To Develop A Comprehensive Chaplaincy Ministry For The Cullman County Sheriff's Office, Matthew W. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Law enforcement officers’ high incidence of suicides and career abandonment is often attributed to work stress and inadequate support. The unmet emotional, physical, and spiritual needs further compound this situation. The researcher addressed the problem of unmet needs by training local pastors to serve as chaplains. Seven deputies, including six males and one female, and ten ministers, including eight males and two females, participated in the program. The training sessions included the following topics: introduction to law enforcement chaplaincy, personal issues LEOs’ battle, ministry of presence, building relationships, the chaplain’s purpose and role, qualities desired in a chaplain, ride-alongs, death …


Charge The Cockpit Or Die: An Anatomy Of Fear-Driven Political Rhetoric In American Conservatism, Daniel Hostetter Apr 2024

Charge The Cockpit Or Die: An Anatomy Of Fear-Driven Political Rhetoric In American Conservatism, Daniel Hostetter

Senior Honors Theses

Subthreshold negative emotions have superseded conscious reason as the initial and strongest motivators of political behavior. Political neuroscience uses the concepts of negativity bias and terror management theory to explore why fear-driven rhetoric plays such an outsized role in determining human political actions. These mechanisms of human anthropology are explored by competing explanations from biblical and evolutionary scholars who attempt to understand their contribution to human vulnerabilities to fear. When these mechanisms are observed in fear-driven political rhetoric, three common characteristics emerge: exaggerated threat, tribal combat, and religious apocalypse, which provide a new framework for explaining how modern populist leaders …


Autism And The Body Of Christ: Understanding, Accommodating, And Accepting Autistic Believers In The Church, Kaitlyn Cook Apr 2024

Autism And The Body Of Christ: Understanding, Accommodating, And Accepting Autistic Believers In The Church, Kaitlyn Cook

Senior Honors Theses

Autism is a neurotype that causes a different set of strengths and weaknesses and thus should be embraced and accommodated within the church. Not only are autistic believers able to grasp Christian concepts, but they also have different perspectives and skills that can be instrumental in building up the church. Promoting a correct view of autism and accommodating neurodiversity within the church will allow autistic believers to follow God’s command to be part of a body and build up the church. The church can employ several strategies to create an accessible environment for believers on the spectrum, including creating sensory-safe …


Biblically Responsible Investing: Should Christians Avoid Or Engage?, Logan Young Apr 2024

Biblically Responsible Investing: Should Christians Avoid Or Engage?, Logan Young

Senior Honors Theses

Christians over the last twenty to thirty years have started to discuss how to engage in investing. This has birthed the movement of Biblically Responsible Investing out of Socially Responsible Investing. There is a tension that exists within Biblically Responsible Investing between the two different ways Christians believe they should participate in investing: avoiding companies through screening and engaging with companies through shareholder engagement. Both of these can have a significant impact on the economy and specific companies. A Biblical worldview surrounding stewardship of resources and seeking to store up treasures in Heaven must be considered as Christian look at …


The Need For Standardized Training For Volunteer Healthcare Chaplains, Dominic Anthony Korzecki Apr 2024

The Need For Standardized Training For Volunteer Healthcare Chaplains, Dominic Anthony Korzecki

Masters Theses

For the past 50 years, many studies have examined the effects of Spiritual Care in medical environments. Though these studies have helped support the legitimacy and necessity for the presence of spiritual care in medicine, a lack of attention has been given to the level of professionalism of those who have been granted permission to administer care. The objective of my thesis is to determine the following: 1) if medical organizations that utilize volunteer-only spiritual care programs for their patients, and families, provide the same level of care as ones staffed by trained professionals, 2) if volunteer-only chaplaincy programs generate …


The Scatological Scriptures: A Biblical Theology Of Dung, Zachary C. Hill Apr 2024

The Scatological Scriptures: A Biblical Theology Of Dung, Zachary C. Hill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Scriptures contain a theology of dung. When the semantic and conceptual cognates that pertain to dung are synthesized, the result is a scriptural scatology whereby dung is presented as a symbol for sin. To clarify, the biblical exhibition of dung presents excrement as a central symbol employed by Scripture to concretize the abstract nature of sin. When each semantic and conceptual cognate that pertains to dung is examined, in nearly every instance where dung is mentioned, sin is in close proximity. The recognition of the dung–sin symbol enlightens particular aspects related to the nature of sin, which mirrors the …


An Examination Of The Parental Role In The Discipleship Of Children, Robert B. Jarman Apr 2024

An Examination Of The Parental Role In The Discipleship Of Children, Robert B. Jarman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parents have an enormous role in the lives of their children. They are responsible for all aspects of their children’s development to prepare them to manage adulthood successfully. Parents invest much of their time in many important areas of the home, yet regarding discipleship, they will often pass on that responsibility to others or neglect it altogether. The danger of a lack of discipleship in the home is that it can potentially contribute to the growing trend of young adults leaving the faith. This thesis project examines the Biblical mandate for parents discipling their children, the reasons for parents not …


Coherent Chiastic Oeuvre In The Unity Of Luke-Acts: Two Volumes Conjoined As A Single Book, John Matthew Powell Apr 2024

Coherent Chiastic Oeuvre In The Unity Of Luke-Acts: Two Volumes Conjoined As A Single Book, John Matthew Powell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A thorough examination of the life and works of Saint Luke has always been an interest and desire to survey, and because of his eruditeness, which produced two amazingly inspired books in the New Testament resulted in the reason behind this dissertation project. Another important thing for this research is animated from the perspective that Luke is the only gentile writer in the NT. It encourages the world that God placed gentiles on equal footing with Jews of the Old Testament era. Unlike the additional three inspired Gospel writers (i.e., Matthew, Mark, and John), Luke did not take it for …


Burnout Prevention In Christian Public And Private Middle School Leaders: A Qualitative Study, Rhonda Grider Purchase Apr 2024

Burnout Prevention In Christian Public And Private Middle School Leaders: A Qualitative Study, Rhonda Grider Purchase

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a momentous problem in academic settings today regarding stress and burnout among academic school leaders (Francis et al., 2017). The focus of this study was to examine the prevention of professional stress in the lives of middle school academic leaders. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of what the selected participants believed was the prevention of stress and burnout in middle school leaders in Newton County, Georgia. For this study, school leaders were defined as certified principals who hold a bachelor’s level or above degree and contribute to the academic environment …