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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

The Problem Of Evil, Modern Calvinism And The Doctrine Of Free Will: Is John Feinberg's Theodicy A Coherent Resolution To The Problem Of Tragic Moral Evil?, Michael Obanla Dec 2012

The Problem Of Evil, Modern Calvinism And The Doctrine Of Free Will: Is John Feinberg's Theodicy A Coherent Resolution To The Problem Of Tragic Moral Evil?, Michael Obanla

Masters Theses

The thesis examines and evaluates Feinberg's theistic defense against the problem of evil with a view to determining whether it represents a coherent and consistent resolution to the problem of tragic moral evil. The thesis relies on three criteria for the evaluation: the internal consistency of Feinberg's theistic defense, its exegetical accuracy, and epistemic adequacy.


Anthropological Apologetics: A Proposal Of An Anthropological Compendium As Evidence For The Imago Dei, Jeffrey R. Dickson Dec 2012

Anthropological Apologetics: A Proposal Of An Anthropological Compendium As Evidence For The Imago Dei, Jeffrey R. Dickson

Masters Theses

Evangelical scholarship has shown great admiration for the work of Gary Habermas and others in their contribution to Christian apologetics by validating the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ with a list of minimal facts generally agreed to by historical and biblical scholars. This thesis will explore the methodology of the minimal facts approach and appropriate it as a tool to explore the data within the field of anthropology which offers evidence for the biblical concept of the Imago Dei. This study will focus on Wolfhart Pannenberg in his critically acclaimed work demonstrating the importance of the theological perspective …


An Apologetic To Sun Hwan Pyun's Dialogue Theology As A Liberation Theology Of Religions, Youngchan Kim Aug 2012

An Apologetic To Sun Hwan Pyun's Dialogue Theology As A Liberation Theology Of Religions, Youngchan Kim

Masters Theses

Sun Hwan Pyun was a professor at Methodist Theological University. As a theologian, he grappled with two important theological questions: "Is Christianity an exclusive religion?" and "Is Christianity only a religion for the upper class?" Regarding the exclusivism of Christianity, Pyun searched for an answer in ecumenical-religious pluralism. As an answer for "is Christianity for the poor", he accepts Minjung liberation theology. Pyun wanted to combine these two theologies and, subsequently, referred to his dialogue theology as a liberation theology of religions. The purpose of this thesis is to search for the theological and biblical answers to these theological questions …


Creating A Millennial Generation Contextualized Church Culture, Christopher Deitsch Aug 2012

Creating A Millennial Generation Contextualized Church Culture, Christopher Deitsch

Masters Theses

The Millennial generation, or Generation Y as some people know them, is the biggest generation in the United States of America history. As they flood schools, universities, and the job market it is easy to see that there are major differences between them and previous generations. Simultaneously, the church in America has hundreds of individual churches each year closing and tens of thousands each year declining; most churches are ceasing to grow. The inability to reach Millennials is one of the reasons for this decline. This thesis purposes to give a snapshot of the Millennial generation, overview a few of …


When Black Meets White In The Heart Of Worship: A Case-Study Of Musical Changes In A Multiracial Church, Serge Volpe Jul 2012

When Black Meets White In The Heart Of Worship: A Case-Study Of Musical Changes In A Multiracial Church, Serge Volpe

Masters Theses

The Worldwide Church of God began as a denomination relying on certain Jewish practices and other Euro-centric distinctions to define its' identity. In the New York City area, African-American churchgoers exceeded that of whites; yet church liturgy retained its European-American flavor. When the denomination underwent transformation in the 1990s, many congregants were unable to accept changes, including new musical styles, and reacted in a manner inconsistent with what church leaders had hoped for. This thesis examines what some African-Americans experienced during this period when liturgy changed to include music representative of their culture. Interviews were conducted with African-American churchgoers from …


Defined By What We Are Not: The Role Of Anti-Catholicism In The Formation Of Early American Identity, Brandi Hatfield Marchant May 2012

Defined By What We Are Not: The Role Of Anti-Catholicism In The Formation Of Early American Identity, Brandi Hatfield Marchant

Masters Theses

From the colonial era through the mid-nineteenth century, anti-Catholicism colored key points of development in America's early history. Amidst the English colonial experience, the Revolution and establishment of the republic, and the educational reform efforts of the nineteenth-century, anti-Catholicism emerged as a fundamental factor in the development of America's characteristically Protestant political and religious identity. While many studies of early American anti-Catholicism focus on one region or time period, drawing connections across geographic boundaries and constructed historical periods attests to the sentiment's pervasive and enduring influence. While this sentiment varied in intensity throughout America over time, its presence profoundly shaped …


Don't Take Orpheus Without The Lyre: The Intricacies Of Using Pagan Myths For Christian Purposes In The Divine Comedy And Paradise Lost, Rebekah J. Waltmann May 2012

Don't Take Orpheus Without The Lyre: The Intricacies Of Using Pagan Myths For Christian Purposes In The Divine Comedy And Paradise Lost, Rebekah J. Waltmann

Masters Theses

Because of their universal and artistic nature, the classical myths lend themselves well to use in literature, especially poetry. When used properly, as by Dante and Milton, the myths have the ability to enhance the work; when used poorly, they become gaudy ornamentation. It was, and is, this ability to enhance both the artistry and function of literature that pulled so many poets to the myths, despite the difficulties that could arise when the pagan myths did not quite match the Christian setting. My purpose in this thesis is not to explicate every use of myth within The Divine Comedy …


A Hierarchy Of Love: Myth In C.S. Lewis's Perelandra, Joseph Walls Apr 2012

A Hierarchy Of Love: Myth In C.S. Lewis's Perelandra, Joseph Walls

Masters Theses

In C.S. Lewis's Perelandra, the transposed creature is drawn up into its "kindly stede" as a sacramental symbol of Christ through that fictional planet's unbroken relationship between meaning and form. Although Perelandra's "wheels-within-wheels" hierarchy may at first seem reminiscent of Catholicism's teachings on symbol, as a Protestant, Lewis believes that human beings cannot be truly sacramental symbols until the return of Christ. Lewis's optimistic depiction of a cosmic hierarchy is one of perfect love: superiors rule their subordinates with agape, and creatures who discover their submissive roles reciprocate with eros or adoring love. Every created being in Perelandra is part …


And Then, He Folds His Patterned Rug: Repressive Reality And The Eternal Soul In Vladimir Nabokov, Elizabeth Cook Apr 2012

And Then, He Folds His Patterned Rug: Repressive Reality And The Eternal Soul In Vladimir Nabokov, Elizabeth Cook

Masters Theses

While Vladimir Nabokov has deservedly earned fame as a stylist of the strange, most critics who study his novels approach his absurd and beautiful characters as little more than fractured victims of a wholly subjective reality. Compounding the misunderstanding is the tired debate over whether or not Lolita is literary, pornographic, or some cruel game of cat-and-mouse in which Nabokov seizes control of his readers' sense of morality. However, critics who read Nabokov as nothing more than a manipulative stylist neglect to realize that his characters suffer such absurd distortions of spirit and mind because their environment--the "average" reality of …