Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Turning “Bad Jews Into Worse Christians”: Hermann Adler And The London Society For Promoting Christianity Amongst The Jews, Robert Ellison

Robert Ellison

This paper explores how sermons contributed to Jewish-Christian relations in Victorian England. I begin with a rhetorical analysis of sermons preached on behalf of the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, the largest and best known missionary organization of its kind. I then examine a collection of sermons in which Hermann Adler, then rabbi of London’s Bayswater Synagogue and later Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, pushes back against their efforts, offering the “true explanations” of passages which, in his view, had been improperly employed by Christian preachers. Finally, I trace a kind of “feedback loop” in which …

If Separation Of Church And State Doesn’T Demand Separating Religion From Politics, Does Christian Doctrine Require It?, Samuel W. Calhoun

Samuel W. Calhoun

This Essay responds to comments by Wayne Barnes, Ian Huyett, and David Smolin on my prior Article, Separation of Church and State: Jefferson, Lincoln, and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Show It Was Never Intended to Separate Religion From Politics. Part II, although noting a few disagreements with Huyett and Smolin, principally argues that they strengthen the case for the appropriateness of religious arguments in the public square. Part III evaluates Wayne Barnes’s contention that Christian doctrine requires separating religion from politics.

A Divine Selection: An Exegetical Analysis Of Vocational Calling, Timothy Nguyen

Timothy Nguyen

Secular Humanism And Christianity.Docx, Stenislos Daniel

Stenislos Daniel

No abstract provided.

Internal Renewal And Dissent In The Early Christian World, Sheila E. Mcginn

Sheila E McGinn

No abstract provided.

Open-Mindedness As A Christian Virtue?, Jason Baehr

Jason Baehr

No abstract provided.

Cross-Cultural Sharing Of Spirituality, John Skrzypaszek

John Skrzypaszek

This paper explores the nature of the Australian Aborigine and Christian spirituality. It demonstrates that the indigenous spirituality shows a strong tie between the spiritual realm and life's journey. The cultural symbolism, which reflects cosmology, shows that the mystical nature of the spiritual journey is deeply immersed in the totality of the Aboriginal life and consciousness. The study recognizes that the Aboriginal and Christian worldviews are distinctly different. However, it argues that the Aboriginal Christian spirituality may be enhanced by the qualities embedded in its indigenous roots. The study demonstrates that, at the point where propositional creed-based structure of the …

How Jesus Became God: One Scholar’S View, James F. Mcgrath

James F. McGrath

Dr. James McGrath's brief analysis of early Christology. Originally presented as a seminar paper at the University of Michigan, March 19, 2015.

The Decline Of Christianity In Modern Europe, David C. Taylor Jr

David C Taylor Jr

Europe was once considered the epicenter of the Christian religion. For centuries Christianity was not only the main religion of Europe it was also a main political power. The Roman Catholic church, and in turn the Christian faith, enjoyed great power at various times throughout history in the European countries and influenced the culture in many ways. However, today there has been a moral and spiritual decline in Europe of staggering numbers. This short essay will explore possible reasons for Christianity’s decline in Europe in the last century and whether or not there is a possibility that the church could …

Pastoral Care: From Past To Present, Ann Marie Kerlin

Ann Marie Kerlin

According to the U.S. National Conference on Mental Health, “Nationally, an estimated 45 million Americans suffer from illnesses like depression, schizophrenia or post-traumatic stress syndrome.” In a speech at this conference, President Obama stated that one out of five Americans experience mental illness in any year. A study published in 2013 surveyed prescription drug use and found that the second most common prescribed drugs were anti-depressants. Obviously there is a great demand for counseling and psychological care in the United States, and both secular and religious approaches to care are available. The purpose of this article is to review briefly …

What A Wonderful Idea!, Barry D. Fike

Barry D. Fike

A brief meditation on unity in the Christian church.

Does God Bend The Rules?, Barry D. Fike

Barry D. Fike

A brief meditation on Jonah and Hezekiah.

Political Disciple: The Relationship Between James A. Garfield And The Disciples Of Christ, Jerry Rushford

Jerry Rushford

James A. Garfield (1831-1881), the only preacher to ever occupy the White House, was a product of the profound social, intellectual and religious ferment of the early decades of the nineteenth century which produced the American religious movement known as the Disciples of Christ. The first fifty years of Disciple history closely paralleled Garfield’s life. The purpose of this study is to focus on the intimate Garfield-Disciples relationship, and to show its reciprocal nature. Garfield was helped by Disciples in the building of a political base (he won ten consecutive elections in the Western Reserve), and they in turn shared …

"The Apollos Of The West": The Life Of John Allen Gano, Jerry Rushford

Jerry Rushford

The purpose of this thesis is the presentation of the life of John Allen Gano, a man important in the history of both early Kentucky and the Restoration Movement. Research toward that end resulted in the recovery of many important documents concerning the period. Basic materials are his own writings, whether in his “Biographical Notebook,” his frequent letters to the Millennial Harbinger, or that found reported to or copied in other brotherhood papers. In addition, a wealth of secondary sources are utilized to complete the overall picture of his life and times. Information gathered from primary and secondary sources is …

Faith In The Humanities, Karen Swallow Prior

Karen Swallow Prior

No abstract provided.

New Testament Translation, A. Thornhill

A. Chadwick Thornhill

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Chad M. Bauman

Chad M. Bauman

Hindu-Christian Conflict In India: Globalization, Conversion, And The Coterminal Castes And Tribes, Chad M. Bauman

Chad M. Bauman

While Hindu-Muslim violence in India has received a great deal of scholarly attention, Hindu-Christian violence has not. This article seeks to contribute to the analysis of Hindu-Christian violence, and to elucidate the curious alliance, in that violence, of largely upper-caste, anti-minority Hindu nationalists with lower-status groups, by analyzing both with reference to the varied processes of globalization. The article begins with a short review of the history of anti-Christian rhetoric in India, and then discusses and critiques a number of inadequately unicausal explanations of communal violence before arguing, with reference to the work of Mark Taylor, that only theories linking …

Christianity And Hinduism: An Annotated Bibliography, Chad M. Bauman, Arun Jones, Brian Pennington, Joseph Prabhakar Dayam, Michelie Voss Roberts

Chad M. Bauman

No abstract available

Divine Folly : Being Religious And The Exercise Of Humor, Doris K. Donnelly

Doris Donnelly

No abstract provided.

I Am The Light Of The World: An “I Am” Statement Of Jesus, David C. Taylor Jr

David C Taylor Jr

The Gospel of John contains eight “I AM” statements of Jesus. “I AM” is the term God first used of Himself when speaking to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). By using this statement, Jesus was aligning Himself with God. One specific use of the statement in John comes in chapter 8 verse 12. Jesus states that He is the light of the world. His claim showed and declared that He has come to take away darkness from the world and give them the light of life. The statement showed His power, and His Deity and His relationship with …

Ecocriticism And Christian Literary Scholarship, Timothy J. Burbery

Timothy J. Burbery

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 …

My Quest For Biblical Spirituality, Stan Patterson

Stanley E. Patterson

No abstract provided.

Two Rabbinic Views Of Christianity In The Middle Ages, Asher Finkel Ph.D.

Rabbi Asher Finkel, Ph.D.

This paper compares and contrasts two rabbinic views of Christianity that arose in the Middle Ages and was presented at the 45th International Conference on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University on May 14, 2010.

Sabbath Controversy: Ibn Ezra And Rashbam In The Twelfth Century, Asher Finkel Ph.D.

Rabbi Asher Finkel, Ph.D.

This paper examines the mid-twelfth century controversy that arose over the issue of whether the Sabbath begins at evening or in the morning and was presented at the 43rd International Conference on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University on May 8, 2008.

Christianity And Libraries: A Selective Bibliography, Gregory A. Smith

Gregory A. Smith

Provides an introduction to a searchable bibliography of 340 sources that explore various connections between Christian faith and practice, on the one hand, and the world of libraries and information, on the other. Explains the rationale for the bibliography and describes its scope and content. Provides eight tips for successful searching.

Temple And Jerusalem In Jewish Life Of The Medieval Diaspora, Asher Finkel Ph.D.

Rabbi Asher Finkel, Ph.D.

This paper examines the importance of the Temple in Jewish tradition and the presence of Jews and their rabbinic leaders in Jerusalem throughout the Middle Ages. The paper was presented at the 40th International Conference on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University on May 6, 2005.

Monastic Approaches To Medicine In The Middle Ages, Christopher Callahan

Christopher Callahan

Nature and God are linked through the creative power of the Word, for which Hildegard coined the term viriditas or “greening power”. Viriditas is the life force which brings all of us into wholeness and into balance with Nature, and is the key to finding our way to God. In this way, Hildegard stands at the pinnacle of medieval Christian medicine. Having evolved beyond excessive reliance on the occult and perched on the cusp of a revival of scholastic medicine, she exemplifies the naturalistic bent of the best of monastic thought. Fusing what ancient medical knowledge was available with a …

Reflections On "Human Nature And Human Virtue", Lawrence E. Frizzell D.Phil.

Reverend Lawrence E. Frizzell, S.T.L., S.S.L., D.Phil.

Reflections on "Human Nature and Human Virtue" is Lawrence Frizzell's response to Dr. Chin-Tai Kim's article, Human Nature and Human Virtue: Some Reflections on Confucius.
Both articles appeared in the same issue of The ISKSA Bulletin and are re-published here.