Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Theology Of The Laity: The Lutheran Way, Brian M. Mosemann

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The distinction between the laity and clergy has been a contributing cause of disunity within the church because the clergy and laity are often pitted against one another with one or the other being elevated to the detriment of the other. This problem has plagued the church from the middle ages until the present day. Since the definition of the term “laity” is vacuous, the laity are generally defined relative to the clergy, specifically in reference to their authority and duties. This results in a negative definition when the laity are defined as the opposite of the clergy. The laity …

The Christian Family: Implications Of Familial Language For The Identity Of The Church, Rebekah Lukas

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Lukas, Rebekah L. “The Christian Family: Implications of Familial Language for the Identity of the Church.” M.A. thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2020. 85 pp.

The family is a prominent image for the identity of the Church. Biblical language reflects the truth that the Church is a family, and God’s promises include familial rhetoric. For Christians, God is “Our Father who art in heaven,” and Jesus is our brother. Christians are made “sons of God” through Baptism, becoming a member of the whole family of God. These are essential aspects of the Christian’s identity. When the Church neglects its use of this …

The Sword & The Mask: Toward A Confessional Lutheran Account Of Spiritual Warfare, Jon Furgeson

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Furgeson, Jon C. “The Sword and the Mask: Toward a Confessional Lutheran Theology of Spiritual Warfare.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2020. pp. "[Number of pages]"

This dissertation, a work in Trinitarian & ecclesial theology, seeks to recover the foundations of a full doctrine of spiritual warfare. Considering seeming disparate voices such as Walter Wink, C. Peter Wagner, John Kleinig, Gustav Wingren, and Leopoldo A. Sánchez, this dissertation asserts a constructive and integrative approach to spiritual warfare wherein the warfare is only enacted by the fallen powers of the sinful nature, the fallen world, and the fallen angels. This warfare is …

Practical Implications Of Resurrection Theology At Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois And Risen Christ Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa, David Jacob

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Jacob, David K. “PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF RESURRECTION THEOLOGY AT ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS AND RISEN CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH, DAVENPORT, IOWA” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2020. 145 pp.

In some Christian churches there exists a tension between the resurrection of the body and a cultural view of an immaterial heaven as the endpoint of eternal life. This MAP examines this tension and shows the biblical teaching of the resurrection from the dead in a bodily form on this present perfected earth as the endpoint of eternal life for the Christian. A multi-part Bible study was written to …

Deepening Our Welcome- Embracing Relational Hospitality In Our Homes, Rance Settle

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Settle, Rance A. Deepening Our Welcome: Embracing Relational Hospitality in Our Homes. Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2019. 162 pp.

A benchmark for success in the service industry is effective hospitality. The implication is that the service industry business model must create an environment where people feel welcome. This practice fosters a surface level hospitality but would not necessarily foster deep relationships. My goal for my ministry context was not only to give tools to show hospitality but to go deeper and show biblical hospitality – which is not only about making people feel welcome but is …

Whither The Body: Using The Church’S Hymnody To Reassert The Hope Of The Bodily Resurrection, Ruth Mcdonnell

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

McDonnell, Ruth E. “Whither the Body: Using the Church’s Hymnody to Reassert the Hope of the Bodily Resurrection.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2019. 216 pp.

Contemporary American cultural narratives of death and life after death are often inconsistent with the biblical doctrine of the resurrection. Indeed, the biblical message can be missed or distorted by these contemporary narratives and the ways metaphor is used to express them. This dissertation asserts that the evocative power of metaphor can be guided by the use of narrative. By applying the biblical narrative, rather than some other narrative, and by connecting the salvation story …

Giftive Dialogue: An Analysis Of The Use Of The Giftive Metaphor In The Pluralist Context Of The Lutheran University Of Brazil, Maximiliano Silva

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Silva, Maximiliano Wolfgramm. “Giftive Dialogue: An Analysis of the Use of the Giftive Metaphor in the Pluralist Context of the Lutheran University of Brazil.” Ph. D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2019. 189 pp.

Modernity’s secularization project and specific characteristics of Brazilian history have promoted pluralism to the status of a moral demand, especially in the academic context. Such a situation posits challenges and opportunities for ULBRA’s campus pastors. That is so because ULBRA’s chaplains’ pastoral ministry is the most visible and symbolic expression of ULBRA’s confessional identity. Because of the claims made by Christianity, that identity has exclusivist traits. Therefore, it …

Just Play: On Being Fully Human In Sport, Amy Gray Bird

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Bird, Amy, S.G. “Just Play: On Being Fully Human in Sport.” Master’s thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 73 pp.

Is competing in competitive sport worthy of a Christian’s time, energy, and resources? If so, how does one compete in a God-pleasing way? Certainly, several factors are at work here, but to gain a theologically faithful understanding of sport this paper considers two concepts as vital: the Lutheran doctrine of vocation and the concept of leisure as articulated by Catholic moral theologian Josef Pieper. This thesis considers both vocation and leisure and explores how when taken together vocation and leisure clarify the …

Body-And-Soul: Embodied Participation Of The Laity In The Divine Service, Aaron Roggow

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Roggow, Aaron, W. “BODY-AND-SOUL: EMBODIED PARTICIPATION OF THE LAITY IN THE DIVINE SERVICE.” Master’s thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 96 pp.

Since God has created us as body-and-soul creatures, it follows that worship of Him is not only spiritual but also physical in essence and in practice. The resurrection of Jesus Christ in the flesh points to the holistic nature of our faith; as such, the physicality of our worship is a fruit of this faith in an incarnate Lord. The benefits of bodily movement and gesture associated with the Word in Christian worship are a vitally important part of worship …

A Survey Of Christian Missions In China And The Chinese Term Controversy, Christopher Vossler

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Vossler, Christopher, P. “A Survey of Christian Missions in China.” S.T.M. thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 121 pp.

This thesis surveys the history of Christian mission work in China from the (legendary) mission of the Apostle Thomas up to the present day, including the upheavals resulting from the Communist Revolution. The lens through which this history is presented is the Chinese Term Controversy, a centuries-long conflict regarding the proper translation of the term “God” in the Chinese language. Every major missionary effort in China wrestled with this question to some extent, and many found themselves torn apart due to their different …

Exploring What It Means To Be A Faithful Christian In Twenty-First Century America, Scott Busacker

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Busacker, Scott, M. “Exploring What It Means To Be a Faithful Christian in Twenty-First Century America.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 187 pp.

This Major Applied Project seeks to explore what it means to be a faithful Christian in Twenty-First Century America. It explores the Biblical and Confessional Lutheran understanding of faithfulness. It then surveys the unique history of religion in America, highlighting the importance of both religious zeal and individual liberty. Christianity in America is going through a period of change. It is no longer culturally established. Thus, Christians need to deliberately consider how to …

Prayerbook Of Christ, Prayerbook Of The Church: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’S Christological Interpretation Of The Psalms, Brad Pribbenow

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Pribbenow, Brad A. “Prayerbook of Christ, Prayerbook of the Church: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christological Interpretation of the Psalms.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2017. 260pp.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), German Lutheran theologian and pastor, is known as an ethicist, church reformer, political resistor, seminary professor, and martyr. Yet overlooked by many scholars is his contribution to the history of interpretation of the Psalms. Bonhoeffer’s interpretive approach toward the Psalms, which shares many characteristics of pre-critical exegesis, is built on a two-pronged hermeneutic emphasizing the relationship of the Psalms to prayer and to Jesus Christ the Crucified One. The distinguishing mark of his unique …

Training Pastors As Steward Leaders, Wayne Knolhoff

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Knolhoff, Wayne J. “Training Pastors as Steward Leaders.” D. Min. MAP, Concordia Seminary—St. Louis, 2017. 187 pp.

The major purpose of this project is to design training for pastors that will equip them to lead ongoing, intentional, systematic, whole life Biblical stewardship education in their congregations. Attention will be given to the biblical metaphor of steward as an appropriate image for pastors as they lead stewardship ministry. In addition, pastors will be encouraged to adopt the model of “steward leadership” as they function in every area of pastoral ministry.

The central component of the research for this project is a …

Post-Holocaust Interpretations Of ’ΙεραήΛ In Romans 9:6–9 And 11:25–27, Joshua Lafeve

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This thesis paper surveys various interpretations of Ἰσραήλ in Rom 9:6–9 and 11:25–27 during the post-Holocaust context of Jewish-Christian relations to determine the exegetical questions most frequently discussed within those passages.

Advancing The Cause Of The Gospel Pastoral Blogging By Luther’S Heirs, Robert Stroud

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Stroud, Robert C. “Advancing the Cause of the Gospel: Pastoral Blogging by Luther’s Heirs.” D.Min. diss., Concordia Seminary—St. Louis, [2016]. [353] pp.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether provision of a digital Handbook for Pastoral Blogging would be of value to pastors who had never before blogged. A draft Handbook was provided to thirteen LCMS clergy from across the United States who were serving in parish ministries. They proceeded to begin blogs and maintain them over a period of three months.

Data was collected from the participants at three points. The first was an online survey prior …

The Gospel In Singapore - The Impact Of Civil Religion And Civil Law, Mark Madson

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Madson, Mark, J. “The Gospel in Singapore: The Impact of Civil Religion and Civil Law.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2015. 240 pp.

The author explores the development of civil religion in the Republic of Singapore, paying special attention to its sources in English common law, Confucianism, and the Peoples’ Action Party (PAP) ideology of economic pragmatism. Colonial and modern civil religious law, including the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act of 1990, serve as the basis for analyzing the interaction of the state and traditional religious traditions. The Singapore Story, as told by Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP, provides a …

Worshipping Meaningfully: The Complementary Dynamics Of Liturgy And Theology In Worship, Joseph Omolo

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Omolo, Joseph, T. "Worshipping Meaningfully: The Complementary Dynamics of Liturgy and Theology in Worship." Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2014. 242 pp.

This dissertation is a work in systematic theology which explores the relationship between liturgy and theology in the current scholarship of liturgical theology. It examines how the complementary dynamics of liturgy and theology enhance the appropriation of meaning experientially and conceptually in the Christian assembly and thereby making worship meaningful event. Worship is meaningful when the Christian assembly encounters the Triune God in his word and sacraments and the assembly responds in praise, prayer and thanksgiving. In such encounter …

A Theology Of Creation Lived Out In Christian Hymnody, Beth Hoeltke

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Hoeltke, Beth June “A Theology of Creation Lived Out in Christian Hymnody.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2014. 308 pp.

A seminal article written by Lynn White in the mid-1960’s indicted Christianity as a major cause affecting the ecological crisis of the day. White emphasized that the Christian tradition practiced domination rather than dominion and ownership rather than stewardship. Since White’s article Christian theologians have challenged his interpretation. One of the unexamined sources of the church’s teaching on creation is hymnody. This dissertation examines this source. Hymns play a vital role in the church’s teaching as they have the ability to …

Christian Hope Among Rivals: Life-Organizing Stories As Narrative Theodices, Michael Zeigler

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Zeigler, Michael. W. “Christian Hope among Rivals: Life-Organizing Stories as Narrative Theodicies.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2014. 270 pp.

This dissertation answers the following: How is Christian hope distinct from others? The answer given is that Christian hope is distinct from its rivals because it expects the God of Jesus to bring the world to conform to the word of the promise he made to Abraham. This answer arises from an approach to Christian eschatology that differs from what has become typical. Current studies in eschatology focus on an internal use attributes, that is, a use fitted for derivation and …

Promissio Spei God's Eschatological Action In The Church, Richard Aaron Davenport

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Davenport, Richard A. "Promissio Spei: God's Eschatological Action in the Church. “Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2012. 213 pp.

This dissertation, a work in systematic theology, examines the nature of Christian hope in the context of current scholarship in systematic theology. Its goal is to assess the way in which Christian hope is rooted in God's word of promise and the extent to which that promise affects Christian life. The eschatological outlook presented in Scripture shows that God's promises, and the hope that they offer, are presented to all of creation. This dissertation investigates the process by which the communication of …

Rhetorical Rationale For The Compositional Integrity Of Second Corinthians, Mark Erickson

Master of Art Theology Thesis

The contention of this thesis, then, is: The Apostle Paul’s apparent use of ancient Greco-Roman rhetorical conventions in 2 Corinthians gives evidence of its compositional integrity and adequately accounts for the apparent partitions which, to some scholars, reveal the existence of multiple documents.

Life In The Spirit: A Post-Constantinian And Trinitarian Account Of The Christian Life, Andrea Snavely

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Snavely, Andrea D. "Life in the Spirit: A Post-Constantinian and Trinitarian Account of the Christian Life." Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2013. 235 pp.

Post-Constantinians John Howard Yoder and Stanley Hauerwas have re-imagined the Christian as a follower of Jesus, critiquing natural theology's dominance that eclipses seeing Jesus' life as the "content" of a Christian's life. However, they lack an answer to the "energy” question, of how one lives like Jesus, because their theologies are based on Logos-Christology. This dissertation proposes that a complementary Spirit-Christology provides the answer to the “energy" question by describing Jesus' life as receiver, bearer, and giver …

An (Enduring) Ecclesiology Beyond The Cultural Captivity Of The Church, Chad Lakies

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

This dissertation is located within the larger conversation about ecclesiology as it is emerging in our post-Christian era. Its effort is both theoretical and practical. Not only will it provide a theological account of the church, but it will do so for the sake of reflective practitioners who are looking for guidance in navigating and negotiating our post-Christian culture in the effort to form faithful Christians. Thus, this dissertation will articulate an ecclesiology of the Christian life, thereby enabling the church to diagnose, assess, and respond to contemporary instances of its own cultural captivity so that it might better embody …

Christian Navy Chaplains And The Challenge Of Expanding Religious Pluralism, Timothy Oswald

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Oswald, Timothy J. “Christian Navy Chaplains and the Challenge of Expanding Religious Pluralism.” D.Min. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary – St. Louis. 2013. 245 pp.

Navy chaplains are expected to facilitate for the religious needs of those from other faiths. For chaplains who believe in the exclusivity of the Christian religion, this can create theological and even personal tensions about support for religious practices which the chaplain believes to be false.

This project explores those tensions and proposes ways to help exclusivist Navy chaplains navigate them. The final ministry product is a Power Point® brief. It draws from bibliographic research, …

A Discipleship Workshop For Trinity Lutheran Church, Walnut Creek, California, David Moore

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Moore, David R. “A Discipleship Workshop for Trinity Lutheran Church, Walnut Creek, California.” D.Min diss., Concordia Seminary—St. Louis, 2013, 150 pp.

Trinity Lutheran Church was established as a congregation of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) on November 19, 1946 in Walnut Creek, California, and is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay. Over the last thirty years the culture in this area has been changing from a culture that was relatively sympathetic to the church’s values and message to a culture that is indifferent or hostile to the church. The activities that once attracted people …

Christian Justification After Nihilism, Joel Meyer

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Meyer, Joel P. "Christian Justification after Nihilism." Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary,2012. [235] pp.

This dissertation addresses the problem that nihilism presents to Christian faith and life. North Atlantic Christians live in an age when nihilism is a normal condition. The world does not appear to have one clear and unquestionable meaning. Instead, each of us has convictions about the world that we hold dear. But we realize that other people hold drastically different convictions than our own, and we have no absolute way of determining the validity of one set over another. So they appear to us as values, rather …

Doctrine After Foundationalism, Robert Lewis Fossett

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Fossett, Robert, L. “Doctrine After Foundationalism.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2011. 250 pp.

This essay argues for an account of Christian doctrine that will bring to light the lingering entrenchment of foundationalism within the context of religious discourse and will show this entrenchment for what it is: a confusion inherited from the Enlightenment (and ultimately from Plato). In its place I offer an account of doctrine that is more explicitly Christological than what is currently being offered in the modern discussion on doctrine and that at the same time, moves the conversation past the assumptions of foundationalism. A properly Christian …

“Made In Each Other:” John Scottus Eriugena’S Conception Of The Human Person As A Unifying Vocabulary For Trinitarian Metanarrative And Anticartesian Phenomenology, Carey B. Vinzant

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Vinzant, Carey B. “Made in each Other: John Scottus Eriugena’s Conception of the Human Person as a Unifying Vocabulary for Trinitarian Metanarrative and Anti-Cartesian Phenomenology.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2010. 260 pp.

This study sets forth an account of the human person, drawn primarily from the thought of John Scottus Eriugena, which integrates the metaphysical account of personhood set forth by Trinitarian theology (especially John Zizioulas) with the phenomenological one set forth by certain Anti-Cartesian philosophers (especially John Macmurray, Martin Buber, and Gabriel Marcel). These two schools of thought have in common the conviction that uniqueness and relation to other …

No Beauty We Could Desire-A Lutheran Evaluation Of C. S. Lewis' Sehnsucht, Jonathan Graf

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Together, the experiences and glimpses of what Lewis called' Joy' or Sehnsucht served as the central thread of his life" and provided him with the ontological lens through which he viewed reality. 13 It is the plan of this paper to further examine Lewis' treatment of Sehnsucht" by engaging it in dialogue with a Lutheran theological perspective. In doing so, there are two main objectives that I hope to accomplish. The first objective is to demonstrate that the experience of Sehnsucht should not be merely dismissed or fully embraced; rather, it should be placed within a proper theological narrative that …

Fishing For Men While Fishing With Men- Relationships Built Through Recreational Experiences As A Tool For Effective Evangelism In Contemporary American Culture, Jonathan Rockey

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Rockey, Jonathan R. "Fishing for Men while Fishing with Men: Relationships Built through Recreational Experiences as a Tool for Effective Evangelism in Contemporary American Culture." D.Min Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary-St. Louis, 2008.316 pp. with Appendices.

The stated goal of this project is "to evaluate a program for the equipping of volunteers for sharing the good news of God's love in Jesus in a recreational setting, and to evaluate the results of that equipping in the lives of these participants by looking at their willingness to witness and the effects they describe that arose from the experience and the process …