Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Restoration Of God's Character In Physical Disabilities, Delaneira Kuntoria

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

Psalm 22 And The Passion Narrative Of The Gospels: Prophetic, Analogous, Or Both?, Nancy Kardos-Moldovan

Honors Theses

Psalm 22 is quoted throughout the Passion Narrative within the Gospels. With comparison between the translations of the Hebrew Old Testament verses and the Greek New Testament verses, whether citation purposes are prophetic or analogous become clear. If the New Testament translations match the Old Testament translations, a direct, prophetic fulfillment is presented. Many of the verses within the Gospels recount how the quoted Psalm 22 verses were fulfilled, especially within John 's Gospel. If mirroring of actions is displayed instead, an analogous fulfillment is presented . This viewpoint may be witnessed through Psalm 22:7, and its accompanying New Testament …

That They May All Be One: Historical And Contemporary Ideologies Of Regional Conferences In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Debbie-Ann Francis

Master's Theses

The Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church has been known for its wide diversity along with its struggles in racial relations within the Black SDA community in the United States. The SDA Church established regional conferences for Black SDA leaders as an alternative to full integration within the denomination. For this analysis, an ideological criticism was performed on two videos that focused on the topic of regional conferences. The hegemonic ideology that surfaced was that separation within the church organization based on race is necessary in order to fulfill the mission of the SDA Church and that issues such as racism will …

A Survey Of The Pneumatology Of Ellet Joseph Waggoner In His Published Books And Pamphlets From 1883 – 1916, Ingram R. London

Papers

The ministry of Ellet J. Waggoner and Alonzo T. Jones made an indelible mark on the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its theology through their proclamation of what has been coined “The 1888 Message.” In consequence, Waggoner has been studied extensively in Adventist academia as well as by laypersons. However, much of this study has focused on biographical data, interpersonal conflict between Waggoner and Ellen White, and most of all, Waggoner’s soteriology and Christology.

Despite the intense interest in Waggoner, no study to date has been published with a systematic explanation of Waggoner’s pneumatology. The purpose of this study was to …

A Strategy To Reach Families With Children In Calgary, Alberta, Ghenadie Girleanu

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

During the last decade, Calgary Central Church has not been intentionally involved in reaching families with children. They have done many different types of evangelism and community outreach programs but nothing to attract this specific segment of the population. With a large number of unreached families with children in the community, the need for a specific outreach project like this was obvious.

Method

A 12-week program to reach families with children was developed and implemented during 2016-2017. The approach of this project was to reach the parents by reaching their children first. For this purpose, Kids' Discipleship Club was …

Constructing A Theology Of Relational Life Through The Themes Of Creation, Incarnation, And Re-Creation As An Alternative To Current Categories Of Religions, Andrew Tompkins

Dissertations

This dissertation argues that current categories of religions are overly reliant on Western Enlightenment-based presuppositions and academic thinking that creates barriers in understanding God’s desire for all people to have abundant life. Many theologians and missiologists utilize these inherited categories without first subjecting them to the biblical canon. As a result, the theological and missiological discourse on religions is often grounded in extra-biblical presuppositions rooted primarily in an overly high view of human reason that do not accurately portray a biblical approach to relational life. These presuppositions do not accurately portray a biblical approach to relational life. I, therefore, compared …

Angels And Sub-Divine Supernatural Beings: Their Characteristics, Function, And Relationship To God And Humanity In Deuteronomy-Kings, Joni Amanda Mcguire-Moushon

Dissertations

This research analyzes selected passages in Deuteronomy-Kings in order to determine the characteristics and roles of supernatural sub-divine beings within these books. Then this data is compared with the angelology of the Second Temple period in order to identify the similarities and the extent of the differences between them.

Deuteronomy contains references to supernatural sub-divine beings, such as “demons” and “holy one(s)”. While Deuteronomy affirms the existence of sub-divine beings, it forbids the Israelites to worship them. In the books of Joshua and Judges, there is awareness of supernatural beings and their roles as warriors, messengers, and tormentors. However, in …

The Nature Of David's Kingship At Hebron: An Exegetical And Theological Study Of 2 Samuel 2:1-5:5, Christian Vogel

Dissertations

The account of David’s reign at Hebron found in 2 Samuel 2:1—5:5 constitutes a somewhat neglected, yet crucial part of the David narrative, chronicling David’s first years as king. This dissertation investigates these chapters by means of a close reading of the Hebrew text in order to gain a better understanding of the nature of David’s kingship as it is presented in this literary unit. The review of scholarly literature on 2 Samuel 2:1—5:5 conducted in Chapter 1 reveals that not much attention has been given to a careful and in-depth exegesis of this literary unit. Instead, most of the …

Toward Engaging The Secular: Charles Taylor's Modern Social Imaginaries, Human Flourishing, And Theological Method, Jenifer A. Daley

Dissertations

Increasing secularization seems to fly in the face of Christian proposals for a Scripture-only principle for theology. The question that this dissertation explores is "How will Christian theology tackle the resulting church-society impasse in a way that is both faithful to Scripture and intelligible contemporaneously without appearing to privilege one aspect over the other?" That is, "What form should theological method take to efficaciously engage the secular?" This study suggests that the answer might lie in an innovative fusion of Scripture with borrowed concepts from secular culture. Thus, this dissertation responds to the problem of the need for robust, multidimensional …

Toward A Biblical Theology Of God's Presence In Christian Theology: A Study Of How Difference Interpretations Of The Divine Presence Affect Liturgy, Karl Tsatalbasidis

Dissertations

Problem

In spite of the universal agreement on the importance of the divine presence as the central aspect of liturgy, there are three conflicting ways in which the presence of God relates to liturgy. They broadly correspond to the main liturgical traditions: Sacramental (Roman Catholic), Kerygmatic (Protestant) and Charismatic (Pentecostal and Interdenominational). In our current situation, how does this universal agreement about the presence of God as the central aspect of liturgy relate to the conflicting means by which congregations assess his presence?

Purpose

The purpose of this study was (1) to describe how the three diverging views relate the …

Motivation For The Sharing Of Material Possessions In Acts, Philo's De Vita Contemplativa And The Didache: A Comparative Study, Lena V. Toews

Dissertations

Luke, in the book of Acts, depicts the sharing of possessions as a practice in the Jerusalem community of the first century. Several pericopes, occurring primarily in the first part of the book of Acts, embody the idea of shared property and seem to have important parallels to other sources of the time, including the Jewish author Philo’s work De vita contemplativa, where he describes a group he calls, “Therapeutae,” and in the Jewish Christian document Didache. This study seeks to identify beliefs correlated with the material sharing practices in the community of Acts and compare them with De vita …

"Let Us Make 'Adam": An Edenic Model Of Personal Ontology, Marla A. Samaan Nedelcu

Dissertations

Personal ontology studies human constitution and human nature, an increasingly debated topic in Christian theology. Historically, the most prominent models of personal ontology in Christian theology have been substance dualist models. More recently, physicalist models have offered prominent alternatives.

This dissertation studies the conflict of interpretations between these two major model groupings. By applying a canonical theology, it then presents an Edenic model of personal ontology that can address the current conflict of interpretations. To achieve this end, the dissertation briefly analyzes substance dualism and physicalism according to the rubrics of constitution and nature, using a model methodology. It then …

The Theological Significance Of The Relations Of Freedom And Time In The Sciences And Humanities: An Evaluation Of The Contributions Of David Bohm And Pauli Pylkko, Michael F. Younker

Dissertations

The concepts of freedom and time underlay all other philosophical and theological questions. This dissertation addresses the natures and relations of freedom and time and their impact upon theological reflection, primarily through the works of the philosopher of science, David Bohm and the philosopher of the humanities, Pauli Pylkkö. These two representatives come from the two competing cultures of the sciences and humanities, which illustrate the deep philosophical conflict that has emerged between these cultures concerning the natures of freedom and time. Specifically, the paradigmatic contributions of Albert Einstein's four-dimensional 'timeless space-time' (with timeless freedom) alongside Bohm, on the one …

A Collaborative Leadership Strategy To Develop A Missional Focus At The Anderson Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Murray L. Miller

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The problem addressed in this project was the lack of missional focus at the Anderson Seventh-day Adventist Church. Four symptoms were correlated to this problem. First, from 2010 to 2013 the Anderson Seventh-day Adventist Church witnessed a slight decline in tithe and a drop in mission offerings. Second, conference archive data from 2003 to 2013 showed that the membership had remained steady while attendance had gradually been in decline. Third, though no formal surveys were available at the initiation of this project, anecdotal evidence from the conference to the local level showed varying opinions concerning the focus of the …

A Strategy For Empowering Parents In Family Discipleship At The Philadelphia Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Hubert A. Wilkie

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Although the Bible clearly calls parents to train their children in the faith and pass on faith to the next generation (Deut 6:4-9; Eph 6:4), few parents at the Philadelphia Seventh-day Adventist Church seem to be involved actively in their children's spiritual development. As a result, the way God designed the family to function is being inadvertently abandoned. This apparent lack of faith and values transmission has resulted in a very high attrition rate among our youth, who are usually disengaged by age 15 and leave the church by age 25. This perceived crisis over the dropout rate has …

Developing Awareness Of Special Needs As Relating To Autism Spectrum Disorders In The All Nations Seventh-Day Adventist Church And Creating A Strategy For Outreach To Affected Families, Shaun Brooks

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

According to recent statistics, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects about 1 in 59 children each year, and over the past decade, there has been a two-fold increase in ASD diagnoses in children. Another study points out that 80% of marriages that have a child with autism will end in divorce due to stress and other factors. If the local rate of ASD reflects that of the national rate, there is an opportunity for the Atlanta All Nations Church to provide ministry to both church and community families affected. As it stood, there was not a significant awareness about Autism …

Strategy To Retain Second Generation Immigrants At The Bethlehem French Seventh-Day Adventist Church In New Jersey, Emile Duvivier

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Bethlehem French Seventh-day Adventist Church in East Orange, New Jersey, has been facing the challenges of any typical church located in urban environments in this post-millennial world. The church is confronted with member depletion in general, and the young people, in particular. The problem of retention has plagued our congregation in a manner that stagnated our exponential growth. A large percentage of the children who were born and raised in the church is leaving the Seventh-day Adventist faith after college. The Bethlehem French Seventh-day Adventist Church has not been exempted.

Method

To resolve the problem, I have put in …

Servant Leadership: A Study About Organizational Health, Leadership Styles And Practices In Missao Bahia Sudoeste Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church And The Possible Relation Between The Ministerial Areas Low Engagement Level In The Small Groups Program, Osmar Borges Lima

Master's Theses

Problem

Due to the low engagement of the pastors of Missão Bahia Sudoeste (MBSo) in the Small Groups program as compared to other field within the União Leste Brasileira (ULB) it was decided to investigate the organizational health, the leadership practices and styles, as well as the job satisfaction on the part of the MBSo’s pastors.

Method

The study was conducted among 52 pastors who represented the three levels of leadership designated by the OLA research instrument (Top Leadership, Management and Work Force) which analyses the perception of the participants six key areas of leadership, as well as six levels …

Towards A Biblical Spirituality: Dwelling With God Through The Exodus Sanctuary-Covenant Structure, Silvia Canale Bacchiocchi

Master's Theses

Problem

Biblical spirituality was challenged from the very start of the Christian church by competing spiritual ideologies of philosophical origins. Because the interpretation of spirituality has focused on exegetical and doctrinal approaches (micro and mesohermeneutical levels), the grounding biblical macro-hermeneutical level of its basic presuppositions has been ignored. Yet this is the level that gives ultimate meaning to the meso and micro levels. This oversight constitutes a giant roadblock to understanding and experiencing true biblical spirituality, the consequences of which are devastating both for the individual believer (Matt 7:23), as well as for the mission, unity, and growth of the …

A Narrative Analysis Of Genesis 3:1-7 And The Theological Significance Of The Serpent, Milton Gonzalez

Master's Theses

Problem

The Christian tradition of the Fall as it relates to Gen 3 is an interpretive construct that is foreign to the text and its immediate context. While scholars continue to view humanity and its fallen state as the central theme of the narrative, I suggest that such are but second to an even greater narrative—namely, a cosmic conflict between Elohim—the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the serpent.

Method

The first chapter of this study considers the traditional view of the temptation narrative (i.e. Gen 3:1-7) as the Fall of Man and suggests that the story of …

Archaeological Backgrounds Of The Sanctuary: A Search For Egyptian Cultural Influence In The Construction Of The Hebrew Tent-Sanctuary, Leslie Scott Baker Jr

Dissertations

Problem

Although the documented description of the construction of the tent-sanctuary appears to give it an Egyptian context in terms of the materials used and the culture of the artisans, in three distinct spheres (sacred, royal-domestic, and military), very little work has been done in comparing the descriptions in the text with the recovered archaeological fabric from Egypt and no study has, as yet, taken the next step of quantifying that comparison through a potentially-repeatable statistical analysis in an effort to determine, in an unbiased manner, the nature of the relationship.

Method

Design and frequency data of the appearing materials …

Islam, Christianity, Traditional Religions And Power Politics In Northern Nigeria Since Pre-Islamic Period, Emmanuel M. Abar

Dissertations

Problem

Currently in Northern Nigeria, religious interaction among the three major religious traditions, Islam, Christianity, and African Traditional Religion, is marred by violent religious conflicts. Also, competing concepts of religious legitimacy, which appeal to the historical heritage of Nigeria, are often used to validate and justify the violation of religious freedom. Does the current state of religious interaction among the various religious groups reflect the true heritage of religious interaction in Northern Nigeria? Or is it possible that the history of the interaction between African Traditional Religions, Islam, and Christianity in the past might actually be a heritage that points …

The Third Space: The Meeting Of Jew And Christian In The Act Of Remembering, Restoring, And Reconciling - A Case Study Of The Matzevah Foundation, Steven D. Reece

Dissertations

Problem

Due to long-standing religious, racial, and cultural tensions, a complex and challenging relationship exists between Jews and Christians. The resulting breach isolates and separates these two faith groups from each other. Consequently, they struggle to interact and engage in meaningful dialogue, which could repair the breach and lead to forgiveness and reconciliation. Dialogue bridges the gap between Jew and Christian allowing them to meet in the third space—the liminal space of the Jewish cemetery in Poland. Jews and Christians may deal with the evil of the past through what researchers term as "loving acts."

Method

This study was conducted …

A Training Program For Members To Minister To Hiv/Aids Patients At The Nyagiki Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Kenya, Job Ogoti Getange

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

During my pastoral experience at Nyagiki, I observed that although HIV/AIDS was a big threat in the church and society, many of the church leaders were not involved in addressing this crisis. There were no intentional church training programs to warn the members about its danger. The church did not make a budget of time or money to address this pandemic. The root problem that caused this situation was lack of health information literacy on HIV/AIDS to equip these leaders with knowledge and skills to deal with this crisis.

Method

The Doctor of Ministry Research Project was conducted at …

God's Mercy And Justice In The Context Of The Cosmic Conflict, Romero Luiz Da Silva

Master's Theses

Problem

When it comes to the right balance concerning God’s character of mercy and justice in relation to His dealings with sin in its different manifestations, a number of theologians, as well as Christians in general, have struggled to harmonize the existence of these two attributes in all God’s actions toward sinners. This difficulty has led many to think of divine mercy and justice as attributes that cannot fit together in what is called the cosmic conflict between good and evil. This, therefore, demands a theological study based on Scripture as a whole to draw solid findings in response to …

Interpreting Philippians 2:12, 13 Using The Great Controversy Metanarrative, Sikhululekile Daco

Master's Theses

Problem

Philippians 2:12, 13 present two paradoxical statements in direct juxtaposition. Verse twelve is an appeal to work out one’s own salvation, whereas verse thirteen acknowledges that it is God who does the work. How could Paul comfortably hold both views and present them in such close juxtaposition? How can this apparent contradiction of concepts be reconciled?

Method

While specialization in any given discipline affords the opportunity for greater depth of understanding, each theological discipline may augment one’s interpretation of a text. Philippians 2:12, 13 poses some interpretive challenges that can be mitigated by broadening one’s exegetical methodology to incorporate …

The Mission And Role Of Women In Graeco-Roman And Judeo-Christian Contexts, Fabienne Liana Maslet

Master's Theses

The place of women in the world has changed and progressed in the past decades. When I was a young girl, women were not really valued in the Church and in the service for God. There were always excuses not to allow them to serve God and they were rejected in a lot of areas in the Church service. However, the worse thing is that frequently women are the ones who are belittling themselves, who denigrate themselves, who undermine themselves or the capacities that God gave them to be used in Church. This occurs because they had been educated this …

When Archaeology Interacted With The Bible: A Study Of The Search For The City Of Raamses Of Exodus 1:11 In The Searcher's Socio Political Context, Georg Filippou

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis is twofold. First, I will research what a selected group of authors and scholars has stated regarding their search for the biblical city of Raamses. 3 This step will involve research of the motive of those researchers who attempted to match Raamses of Exod 1:11 with geographical locations in Egypt, to follow their search within the social and political context of these scholars. Second, based on these scholars’ research, I will attempt to discover what happened when Bible and archaeology interacted in the search for the city of Raamses.

The study begins with some pages …

A Biblical Overview Of The Concept Of Fruit With An Emphasis On The "Fruit Of The Spirit" In Galatians 5, Timothy Selinger

Master's Theses

Problem

The topic of the Holy Spirit and especially the meaning of "being filled with the Spirit" is a relevant topic. Generally, it is thought to be related to miracles, healings, and explosive church growth among Adventists or to speaking in tongues and other manifestations, especially among Charismatic Christians. Few identify the fullness of the Spirit with holiness of character. In Paul, the presence of the Spirit in the life of the believer results in the presence of the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:22). Just like an apple tree produces apples, a person filled with the Spirit will produce …

Improving Family Satisfaction Through Conflict-Management Training For The Immanuel Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Toronto, Canada, Anthony M. Reid

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Immanuel Seventh-day Adventist Church is a multiracial congregation with members from over 35 countries, with approximately 200 families in regular attendance. Twenty percent of these families are interracial families, while 80% are a balanced mix of ethnic makeup. Reports from leaders and members, as well as pastoral observation, led us to the conclude that many families were affected by family squabbles and separation due to unresolved conflict. Consequently, there was a high level of stress and family dissatisfaction. This resulted in declining participation in ministry and mission.

Methods

A 10-hour conflict-management education-training program was developed and implemented. The …