Arts and Humanities Commons^™

“As Blind Men Learn The Sun”: Towards A Poetics Of Queer Mysticism In American Literature, 1860-1960, Bradley M. Nelson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation seeks to play with the similarity between the queer and the mystical, and in the process, defines something I call “queer mysticism.” I include four cardinal figures of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American poetry: Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, and Robert Duncan. Beginning with Walt Whitman, I show how each of these poets bear witness to an experience of the divine that is both immanent and immanently queer. Through historical and biographical research, I uncover their poetic inspiration in popular modes of expression and in the esoteric and arcane. By establishing a connection with a few Catholic mystics …

Saint Brigit And Her Habits: Exploring Queerness In Early Medieval Ireland, Jacqueline K. Stephenson

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Saint Brigit's behavior and reception by society highlight an avenue by which women in the early medieval period could escape societal strictures, exercising agency over their bodies and their romantic choices, and carve out a distinct and unexpected place for themselves in a Christian patriarchal society. In Saint Brigit’s case, this is especially demonstrated by the breadth of her portrayed power as not just a nun but a saint, her extreme resistance to marriage, and her frequent comparisons to men. Indeed, her hagiography, written by Cogitosus in the seventh century, positioned her as one of the three principal and earliest …

New Paths In Jewish And Religious Studies: Essays In Honor Of Professor Elliot R. Wolfson, Glenn Dynner, Susannah Heschel, Shaul Magid

Purdue University Press Books

The work of Elliot R. Wolfson has profoundly influenced the fields of Jewish studies as well as philosophy and religion more broadly. His radically new approaches have created pioneering ways of analyzing texts and thinking about religion through the lens of gender, sexuality, and feminist theory. The contributors to New Paths in Jewish and Religious Studies: Essays in Honor of Professor Elliot R. Wolfson, many of whom are internationally renowned scholars, hearken from diverse fields. Each has learned from and collaborated with Wolfson as student or colleague, and each has expanded the new scholarly directions initiated by Wolfson’s groundbreaking …

Salvation Of The Nations In Isaiah, Isaiah M. Gillette

NEXUS: The Liberty Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

In the book of Isaiah, a key theme that is present is the salvation of the nations. This salvation is in the form of peace on earth, peace in the millennium, and salvation of the soul through the Messiah Jesus Christ. Articles are looked at that discuss specific passages about the salvation of the nations in Isaiah. The passages themselves are also studied to determine what they say about the salvation of the nations. Some authors of the articles argue for different views on certain passages, like that it is of judgment of the nations instead of salvation of the …

A Religion For The Common Man: A Culturally Subversive Understanding Of Kabir’S Simple State, Wyatt Golden

NEXUS: The Liberty Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

No abstract provided.

Inciting Peace From The Inside Out, Stephen G. Adubato, Ebere Bosco Amakwe, Katherine Hinic, Sarita Maldjian, Forrest Pritchett, Jon Radwan, Nicholas Sooy, Chad Thralls

Conferences

Violence and war can be incited, and so can peace. This volume shares select addresses and responses from Seton Hall University’s 2/7/23 conference “Inciting Peace From The Inside Out.” A multi-disciplinary range of scholars each addresses how reconciliation processes grow from spiritual dynamics. Multiple religious traditions teach contemplative praxes that prioritize and nurture personal reflection oriented toward peace. Social conflicts divide, so engaging them with a partisan orientation only serves to escalate harmful rifts. In contrast, bringing personal awareness and sensitivity, spiritual balance, and holistic integral perspective to conflict can transcend divisions and work toward unity. This volume is supported …

Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: Hansol Goo, Mathew Schmalz, Hansol Goo

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

The Secrets Of Christian Others: Hungarian Catholic Intellectuals Debate Ecumenism At A Transylvanian Pilgrimage Site, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

Claims about a shared Christian tradition animate European debates about religious otherness, but more remains to be known about how Catholics on Europe’s near-margins understand ecumenical unity among churches. I analyze contemporary Hungarian Catholic intellectuals’ publications about a controversy at the Hungarian national shrine, Our Lady of Csíksomlyó, in Transylvania. When a priest wrote that Csíksomlyó’s annual pilgrimage commemorated sixteenth-century Catholics’ victory over an invading Unitarian army, Transylvania’s Unitarian bishop denounced the origin as an undocumented myth. Prominent Catholic ethnologists, historians, and theologians agreed that, in the name of ecumenism, intellectuals should not publicly mention the origin narrative. But they …

“He Led The Way”: Preston Taylor And African American Leadership In The Stone-Campbell Movement, Edward J. Robinson

Journal of Discipliana

Preston Taylor was a brilliant, powerful, and flawed leader whose influence extended from Nashville to the national stage and continues even today. Taylor's organizational and business skills led to the creation of associations that gave both identity and agency to Black Disciples at a time when repressive laws and horrific prejudices made such action extremely difficult. Taylor’s story is not a perfect one.Yet an examination of his inspiring and dramatic life offers keen insight into the American past and affords us an opportunity to study history more carefully and closely.

The Book Of Ruth: Its Didactic Wisdom Themes, Brian Corn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation proposes and argues that the Book of Ruth is better situated in Wisdom literature because of its didactic wisdom themes. Prominent wisdom themes will be analyzed and compared intertextually with the Book of Ruth, which provides Ruth’s understanding of YHWH. The research methodology evaluates the intertextuality, or inter-themes, between the Book of Ruth and the Wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes), the primary source. Peer-reviewed sources (scholarly commentaries, academic peer-reviewed journals, and scholarly biblical dictionaries) are used to evaluate and support the findings uncovered in the primary source. Semantic field and range studies are performed with the help …

Lessons From Jesus’S Table Talk A Survey Of Selected Texts In Luke’S Gospel, Claudine D. Rogers-Wright

Masters Theses

Luke uses food related motifs to set the scene for controversial, direct, and confrontational conversations about the Kingdom of God through the use of the table talk that Jesus engaged in several texts in his Gospel. The topic, dialogue, and message around the table varied depending on the dining partners. This thesis aims to perform a responsible examination of food and banqueting related passages in Luke, to understand the context and circumstances, the people involved, and the lessons Jesus taught around the table.

God Of The Whole Earth Ministry Church Project: Equipping Church Members To Engage Their Community, Christopher Stevens

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The God of the Whole Earth Ministry (GWEM) Church study investigated how church members can gain confidence to share their faith when properly equipped. Sharing the gospel with others can be a problem for some people. Generally, the lack of skills and knowledge is the biggest problem for some people to share their faith. GWEM Church members were not equipped to share their faith. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to equip participants to share their faith. Skills were taught to help participants develop and use those skills to start meaningful and practical conversations to open up a dialogue …

Evaluating Instruments And Strategies For Change: A Pilot Study For Total Life Ministries, Lisa M. Hunter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In times of turbulence and crisis, people and families should look to the church to receive comfort, salvation, spiritual and emotional assistance, and support from the church. Declining rates of prayer and worship church service attendance levels is an issue of major concern. Continually formulating new strategies, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical and theological models are necessary to address this situation. A participatory action research intervention pilot study was conducted at Total Life Ministries church, which comprised a phenomenological study with hermeneutical consistency and a case study essence. The new strategy centered on certain prayer types and ways of praying that …

Pronomian Paradigm: A Pro-Torah, Christocentric Method Of Theology And Apologetics, Gregory Scott Mckenzie

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation sets out to demonstrate the continued validity of the Torah for all believers today. As such, this dissertation attempts to show that discontinuity of the Mosaic Covenant is scripturally, theologically, and philosophically untenable. The thesis of this dissertation is that Pronomianism is the paradigm that most cohesively melds theology and apologetics, through its interpretation of Paul’s words and deeds at the second Jerusalem council, which unveils the Torah’s centrality in New Testament theology, and that Pronomian moral apologetics reveal the Law of God as the only foundation for objective, biblical morality, and the guide to righteous living. This …

Preparing Three Southern Baptist Churches In Mason, Tennessee, As Lighthouses Of Hope In Crisis And Disaster: The Intersection Of The Firehouse And The Church House During A Global Pandemic, Brian J. Styer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) ministry program faces challenges due to limited awareness among Southern Baptist pastors, leading to inadequate promotion and participation. The proposed solution involves providing targeted education, improved advertising, and encouraging local leaders to promote engagement. The project aims to prepare three churches in Mason and Stanton, TN, to serve as Disaster Relief teams through specialized training and courses like ‘Introduction to Disaster Relief.’ The goal is to increase awareness of SBDR, recruit and train new members, and inspire individuals to become endorsed SBDR and Public Safety Chaplains. The project incorporates a theological foundation to integrate …

Developing A Pathway For Ministry Leaders At Southside Church Of The Nazarene, Reginald David Phillips

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research project created a leadership development pathway to produce more ministry leaders at Southside Church of the Nazarene. A five-step leadership development pathway culminating in discipleship integration was designed and implemented. This pathway produced a statistically significant increase in the number of new leaders in one quarter of a calendar year compared to the quarterly average of new leaders in the previous three years. Data was collected through surveys, interviews, and roundtable discussions, and reviewed by multiple researchers to help remove bias.

Biblical Literacy: A Theological Exploration Of What God Says About Women Called To Pastor, Shannel K. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This Doctoral Research Project aims to answer the question, Is there biblical awareness among the congregation about God’s acceptance and call of female pastors? The problem presented identifies a gap in biblical knowledge about women in church leadership due to the lingering effects of patriarchal influence. There may be resistance to church growth due to the uncertainty of the Scriptures, which sanction women to the call of God. This research project proposed to improve the Bible literacy of ten Christian men and women to cultivate spiritual growth and strengthen their theology. Historically, the conservative church taught that the Bible forbids …

The Evidential Problem Of Assurance: Textual Approach From The Johannine Literature, Derick A. Adu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Assurance of salvation is an existential issue that has occupied the center stage of theological deliberations in the Church's history. This dissertation is a quest for epistemic justification. The dissertation examines the conditions that justify and validate claims of assurance of salvation. The research is partly an epistemological quest as well as a textual inquiry. This study utilizes evidentialism, the epistemological concept that what provides epistemic justification is evidence, to reach a reasonable conclusion. The data for the analysis consists of the Johannine literature, that is, the Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John, and the book of Revelation. …

The Stratified Leadership Model Of The First-Century Christian Church, Barton Schuyler Garratt Edsall Iv

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As Christianity enters its third millennium, it faces the sharpest decline in the number of people attending church congregations compared to the total population. In Romans 1:13, the Apostle Paul states that God’s people should not be ignorant that the purpose for leaders within the collective church body, beginning with himself as the example, is so the people’s lives would be fruitful–spiritually enriched and productive. Logic dictates that if the lives of those who attended Christian churches in the twenty-first century experienced and displayed such spiritual quality, attendance would not be declining but contrarily on the rise. Regarding church clergy …

The Canonical Significance Of Mindset In Romans 8:5–14 (Φρονέω And Its Cognates): Implications For Biblical Interpretation, Application, And Evangelism, Denise Anne Pass

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The term mindset is common in today’s vernacular, but its significance in the canon has scarcely been explored. Cultures throughout time have viewed mindsets as something that human volition alone can affect. Yet the inability to maintain the mindset God requires of his people has prevented them from faithfully keeping the covenant and rightly interpreting Scripture. Mindsets are habitual or innate mental attitudes that determine how one will interpret life situations and the Word of God, impacting relationships with others and one’s ability to love God and walk in obedience to His Word. Paul’s extensive use of φρονέω echoes back …

Isaiah 53: Grammatical, Structural And Exegetical Observations, Felipe Braz Federson

Masters Theses

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is a famous passage from the Tanakh that contains important grammatical constructions in Hebrew which, if translated incorrectly, can lead to erroneous exegetical and theological conclusions. Among these problems, the Servant’s relationship with the other characters in the passage is addressed. Through an analysis of the literary context and the structure of the text, not only are several exegetical possibilities substantiated, but two prototype translations are also provided, one based on the Leningrad Codex and another based on the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa).

Modern Critiques Of The Kalam Cosmological Argument, Colby D. Crawford

Masters Theses

The Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA), like all other arguments for the existence of God, is constantly under a microscope. Individuals are continuously struggling to undermine its validity, and until recently they have generally failed in demonstrating that the KCA is irrelevant. Since William Lane Craig revitalized the Kalam in 1979, scientists and philosophers have offered objections against it from all perspectives. However, due to the KCA’s modesty and simplicity it has stood the test of time against its critics. That is, it has until now.

It’S All In Your Mind: Mindset And Eternal Destiny, Eric S. Henderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A Christian’s mindset is key to his or her ongoing life as a believer. The choice of one’s mindset critically affects almost every aspect of a Christian’s life. This impact occurs throughout the person’s life, because one’s mindset must be chosen continuously. One cannot “set it and forget it.” Satan constantly lurks around to try to draw the believer away from thinking about spiritual things. One’s mindset matters because the focus of one’s mind to a large extent determines one’s eternal destiny. This dissertation will offer support for libertarian free will and the possibility of apostasy, and then examine the …

An Exegetical Analysis On Zechariah 11, Jian Wu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The prophetic book of Zechariah, the longest one of the Twelve Prophets, contains many interpretive challenges. This dissertation focuses on Zechariah 11 while acknowledging textual issues and heavy influence from the Major Prophets and offers a harmonized holistic interpretation of the two sign-acts, the shepherds and staffs, and other relevant issues such as the thirty pieces of silver through applying five research methodologies. This dissertation argues that Zechariah 11 provides a retrospective of what Israel experienced to raise an alarm for them to obey God’s command. This partly explains the abrupt shift in tone from hope and promise in Zechariah …

Mythos And Meaning: Medieval Appropriations Of Mythological Types In The Consolation Of Philosophy And Later Western Literatures, Francis J. Hunter

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Often referred to as the last Roman and first medieval, Boethius, author of The Consolation of Philosophy, has been widely received as an unoriginal philosopher who sought to preserve Platonic thought as the Western Roman Empire fell. However, this essay features an investigation into the literary originality of Boethius who initiates a line of Christian and Platonic literatures to follow in the medieval European tradition. Boethius demonstrates himself to be a poet who makes great use of philosophy rather than as a philosopher writing poetry. Boethius’ poetic influence is felt most strongly in major aspects of Dante’s Divine Comedy and …

Frozen Ii And Girls’ Spiritual Formation: How The Music Of An Animated Musical Resonates With Girls And Women, Cristen Mitchell

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

Frozen II (2019) is a popular Disney animated movie for children and depicts striking spiritual elements while weaving in feminist practices such as justice and equity, and feminist theology through representations of female spirits and connection to the earth. Through this movie, its themes, and the historical exclusion of women in the church, this thesis seeks to show that representation of women in the divine is an important, and necessary part of the spiritual and psychological development of girls and women. The methods of this thesis include exploring the following synchronicities:

1. Parallels between feminist issues in the church and Walt …

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With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

The Congregation In All Her Glory: How The History Of The Association Of Free Lutheran Congregations (Aflc) Can Be Used To Teach Free And Living Church Polity, Stephen Mark Mundfrom

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Among Lutheran denominations in America, the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations privileges the free activity of the congregation with a unique church polity. Because of its rarity, the AFLC is especially concerned that a correct understanding of its polity be taught at its schools and passed on effectively to future generations. One way to ensure that this occurs successfully is through a combination of theological and historical instruction. Historical education has been in decline for several hundred years due to developments in Western thought. Nevertheless, significant arguments can be made for the necessity of an historical and narrative understanding of …

Mental Health And Theologies Of Suffering, Sarah Skrove

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Theologies of suffering have been used by theologians, ministers, and faithful alike to try to understand why God allows innocent suffering. These ideas have been applied to wars, violence, starvation, grief, mental health challenges, and the list goes on. The primary focus of this project is the impact that theologies of suffering have had on the perception of mental health, the experience of those enduring the suffering, and the stigma surrounding treatment. While certain theological narratives are helpful for an individual to find meaning in their own pain, theologians must be careful of uninvited application of scholarship to another’s lived …

Vision, Repetition And Redemption: Envisioning Universal Salvation In A Group Of Six Carolingian Ivory Book Covers, Valerie Thai

Theses and Dissertations

Six Carolingian ivory plaques share almost identical imagery. This thesis focuses on the figures of Synagoga and the rising dead repeated in the compositions. As the ivories are Gospel covers used in Mass, this study demonstrates how these motifs appeal to the congregation, conveying the Christian tenet of universal salvation.