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The Perpetual Progression In The Schleswig-Holstein Duchy: History, Politics, And Religion, 1460-1864, Christian Anthony Ahlers May 2024

The Perpetual Progression In The Schleswig-Holstein Duchy: History, Politics, And Religion, 1460-1864, Christian Anthony Ahlers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

German nationalism in the Schleswig and Holstein duchies that predates the German Unification Wars of the Nineteenth Century continuously transformed in response to Danish encroachment, civic disputes regarding treaty legitimacy, and war. The Germans in the duchies fought to retain their ancestral homelands and, in doing so, embraced a pan-Germanic consciousness that is the foundation for early modern nationalism. This consciousness dates back hundreds of years. This case study examines the Germans of Schleswig and Holstein and their experiences with the consistent and pressing Danish encroachment. Despite the encroachment, the Germans remained connected with their culture, traditions, religion, and their …


A Brief History Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints With Emphasis On The Charismatic Roots Of The Race-Based Priesthood Denial, Wayne A. Denton Dec 2023

A Brief History Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints With Emphasis On The Charismatic Roots Of The Race-Based Priesthood Denial, Wayne A. Denton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation provides an overview of the history of race relations and the evolution of authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). It traces the early charismatic leadership of Joseph Smith and his liberal racial views, which increased tension between the LDS church and broader American society. After Smith's death, Brigham Young instituted racist policies like slavery in Utah and a priesthood ban for black members to reduce tensions. In the Progressive Era, LDS scholars theologically entrenched the priesthood ban despite their progressive leanings. A push towards correlation and centralized control of doctrine in the twentieth …


The Relationship Between Christianity And Slavery: An Examination Of The Defense Of Slavery Within Christian Thought, Practices And Methodologies From 1619-1865, Decorie Lee Smith May 2023

The Relationship Between Christianity And Slavery: An Examination Of The Defense Of Slavery Within Christian Thought, Practices And Methodologies From 1619-1865, Decorie Lee Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Slavery in the Unitred States was supported by individual Christians who skillfully mastered how to manipulate the Bible as justification for enslaving Africans and their descendates. Therefore, the examination of the relationship between Christianity and slavery within the United States and the greater western civilizations-explores the impact of Christian institutions on African Americans-investages the influence of Christianis relationship with slavery on all the descendants of enslaved African culture as the plural societies within this relationship’s functions. So far, two perspectives have emerged in the study of the existence of such an connectiuon. The first, which may be termed as “Proslavery …


American Religion: A Study Of Religious Change From The 1920s Through 1970s, Alexander R. Marks-Katz Jul 2022

American Religion: A Study Of Religious Change From The 1920s Through 1970s, Alexander R. Marks-Katz

Masters Theses

Religion in America persisted along traditional Christian lines until the 1870s. It was then that theological liberalism gained significant headway. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era were still infused with revivals and preachers but there was a growing contingent that challenged the fundamentals of Christian belief. Sometimes this contingent supported revivals but promoted social causes and brought unorthodox biblical interpretations. At other times, they challenged traditional Christianity altogether. By the Great Depression, American culture had undergone such a tremendous amount of change that, faced with adversity, the bottom of religion fell out. Fewer people attended services and contributed funds. More …


Revival Today: America’S History Of Biblical Revival And Its Modern Application, Matthew Musser Apr 2022

Revival Today: America’S History Of Biblical Revival And Its Modern Application, Matthew Musser

Senior Honors Theses

There is a need for revival within the church today. Christian revivals are becoming less and less popular in the current times. Is this due to a subtle shift in America’s culture? Or is this decline of religious revival the result of something deeper? This thesis will seek to discover the biblical foundations of revival in American history. First, it will analyze some of the biblical revivals that took place in the Old Testament, Gospels, and Book of Acts. Then it will transition into how these biblical principles have been the cornerstone for many of the great revivals in American …


Investigating The Prevailing Worldviews Of American Public Education: A Brief Analysis And History, Chester Walker Apr 2021

Investigating The Prevailing Worldviews Of American Public Education: A Brief Analysis And History, Chester Walker

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis investigates whether the philosophies and worldviews underlying U.S. public education contradict or purposefully undermine Biblical Christianity. It provides readers with an understanding of the Biblical Christian worldview to enable them to analyze and contrast prominent worldviews of public education. Pragmatism and Marxism run rampant in public education today. Both strongly oppose fundamental tenets of the Biblical Christian worldview. To determine any purposeful anti-Christian agenda, the author examines the men behind the worldviews. Christianity maintains that ideas and practices in education originate from deeply-held, personal beliefs, which are passed on to students. Education is a means of discipleship to …


Voices Of Courage: A Comparison Of The Treatment Of Evangelicals And Dissidents Under Khrushchev, Abigail Coker Jan 2021

Voices Of Courage: A Comparison Of The Treatment Of Evangelicals And Dissidents Under Khrushchev, Abigail Coker

Senior Honors Theses

Nikita Khrushchev’s time in power from 1953-1964 has often been thought of as a period of “thaw” in the Soviet Union, as he allowed a certain degree of freedom of expression for artists and writers. However, this view of the Khrushchev “thaw” ignores the blatant human rights violations enacted by the Soviet Union during this time, specifically in its treatment of evangelicals and other dissidents. This work examines Khrushchev’s treatment of evangelicals and other dissidents with the goal of refining modern perceptions on Khrushchev’s time in office. The timelines and methods of both the anti-religious campaign of 1959-1964 and the …


The End Is Upon Us: Attila The Hun And The Christian Apocalypse, Nathan Landrum Aug 2020

The End Is Upon Us: Attila The Hun And The Christian Apocalypse, Nathan Landrum

Masters Theses

Since their arrival onto the European landscape from beyond Scythia, the land north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, the Huns were originally perceived by the Roman world as a seemingly unknowable, uncivilized barbarian group that instilled fear on the unfortunate peoples in their path. As the Huns migrated further south and eventually permanently settled in the Great Hungarian Plain, the Romans’ original perception largely remained intact, but with great alterations. By the campaigns of Attila in the mid-fifth century, as numerous cities and towns were utterly destroyed across the Balkans, Gaul, and northern Italy, Attila and the …


Luther And The Jews: An Exposition Directed To Christians On Martin Luther's Anti-Semitism, Defense, And Legacy, Megan Wilson Apr 2015

Luther And The Jews: An Exposition Directed To Christians On Martin Luther's Anti-Semitism, Defense, And Legacy, Megan Wilson

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis is an analysis of the historical relations between reformer Martin Luther and the Jewish people. Its primary purpose is to defend Luther’s image as a prominent figure in Christian history while considering the possibility of his anti-Semitic views. This thesis focuses particularly on a number of Luther’s written works in order to achieve this goal, with a secondary concentration on historical and incidental defenses that can be used to exonerate him. This thesis also serves to inform contemporary Christians of the controversy surrounding these views and the result of his legacy in more recent centuries.


An Examination Of The Martyrdoms Of Lyon In Ad 177: A Critique Of The Theory Of The Trinqui, Timothy Yonts Jan 2014

An Examination Of The Martyrdoms Of Lyon In Ad 177: A Critique Of The Theory Of The Trinqui, Timothy Yonts

Masters Theses

Historical research concerning the Christian persecution of Lyon in AD 177 has attempted to solve the question of relationship between the events in Lyon and the political and religious context of the Roman Empire. One such theory, the trinqui theory, posits that the Gallic aristocracy exploited Christians as sacrificial victims in an ancient Celtic ritual involving the use of criminals in gladiatorial entertainment. If true, the trinqui theory effectively shifts the responsibility for the killings from the imperial government under Marcus Aurelius to the provincial and aristocratic authorities in Gaul. This thesis will critique the trinqui theory by showing that …


They Came Up Out Of The Water: Evangelicalism And Ethiopian Baptists In The Southern Lowcountry And Jamaica, 1737-1806, Samantha Futrell Apr 2013

They Came Up Out Of The Water: Evangelicalism And Ethiopian Baptists In The Southern Lowcountry And Jamaica, 1737-1806, Samantha Futrell

Masters Theses

The Ethiopian Baptists in the eighteenth century Atlantic were not actually Ethiopians at all, but people of West African descent, traded as slaves to the southern lowcountry and Jamaica. Their identification with Ethiopia did not come from their geographic ancestry, but from a Christian heritage that they became a part of when they accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ. The evolution of this evangelical Afro-Baptist movement occurred in three stages. First, white evangelicals, like George Whitefield, carried Christianity to African American populations in South Carolina during the Great Awakening. Second, African American leaders, such as George Liele, rose up as …


The West's Feet Of Clay: Transmuting The Pillars Of Liberty From Gold Into Dross, Jin Seock Shin Apr 2011

The West's Feet Of Clay: Transmuting The Pillars Of Liberty From Gold Into Dross, Jin Seock Shin

Senior Honors Theses

This study seeks to support the centrality of the Judeo-Christian heritage to the growth and sustenance of liberty, a form of individualism limited by moral values. The pillars of liberty—self-government, private property, representative government, and limited government—reflect the structural contributions made by the Judeo-Christian heritage. Unfortunately, much of Western civilization suffers from a spiritual crisis, which has introduced and exacerbated fractures in the pillars. Pitirim Sorokin’s social and cultural analysis of Western civilization provides a framework to better understand the fractures evident in the history of liberty in Europe and America, and developed in each pillar of liberty—fractures that reaffirm …