Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Words Empty And Hollow? The Brethren In Christ Church And The Challenge Of Race, 1967-1975, David Weaver-Zercher

Biblical, Religious, & Philosophical Studies Educator Scholarship

This article, the second of two exploring the Brethren in Christ Church’s response to race, racism, and the Civil Rights Movement, picks up the story in 1967. Earlier, in 1963 and 1964, the denomination had adopted two statements on the issue of black civil rights that placed the church firmly in the “white moderate” camp. Not only did the events of the late 1960s call for renewed consideration of these issues, but the denomination itself was changing, with a growing contingent of members who considered working for social change to be an important part of the church’s mission. To be …

Sympathy And Disfavor: The Brethren In Christ Church And Civil Rights, 1950-1965, David Weaver-Zercher

Biblical, Religious, & Philosophical Studies Educator Scholarship

This article, the first of two exploring the Brethren in Christ Church’s response to race, racism, and the Civil Right movement, picks up the story in the early 1950s and runs through 1965—that is, after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the 1950s, the Brethren in Christ Church began to develop programs to address America’s “race problem” (e.g., starting new churches in black neighborhoods), but its support for black civil rights was always minimal. Even as the church expressed sympathy for the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, it condemned activist means of protest that, in …

2021 Virtual Humanities Symposium: A Conversation On Freedom, Messiah University

Humanities Symposium

Keynote Lecture: Troubling the Narratives of a Democratic Nation: "Whose Stories Are These?" Jacqueline Jones Royster

Date: Thursday, March 4th, 2021

In 2020, the Center for Public Humanities had the remarkable opportunity to join “The Commonwealth Monument project,” a coalition of citizens, organizations, educators, and legislators dedicated to establishing a new bronze monument on the Pennsylvania State Capitol that honors Harrisburg’s rich African American history and pays tribute to the U.S. Constitution’s 15th and 19th amendments, which secured the vote for African Americans and for women. The dedication of this new monument, “A Gathering at the Crossroads” (pictured above) took …

A Christian Perspective Of An Ojibwe Sweat For Women, Carol Z.A. Mcginnis, Julie Ogemaanungokwe Smith

Counseling Educator Scholarship

It is a rare privilege to be invited to participate in a Native American Ojibwe sweat and I was fortunate to experience this as an all-female event with other counselors from across the US. As a pastoral counselor who comes from a Methodist Christian worldview, I thought it may be helpful to share my perspective with other counselors who may work with Native American clients who engage in this type of religious experience. Oftentimes we have difficulty in finding “common ground” from which to connect with clients from different cultures, and this experience helped me to see how our shared …

What’S Going On While We Were Avoiding The Subject, Janell Paris

Sociology Educator Scholarship

Oh, my. I am the bearer of statistics and trends related to sexual behavior and attitudes – what it is we’re talking about in these days together. God so loved the world... so what is it like, this world that God loves? My grandpa would probably disapprove of starting with conversation about worldly things – he was an American Baptist pastor, fundamentalist, studied under William Bell Riley, and the Bible was almost the only book he read. He’d sometimes try to read the newspaper, but would be so pained by the worldliness, he’d have to set it down.

I thought …

The Word And Words In The Abrahamic Faiths, Larry Poston, Linda Poston

Bible & Religion Educator Scholarship

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are “word-based” faiths. All three are derived from texts believed to be revealed by God Himself. Orthodox Judaism claims that God has said everything that needs to be said to humankind—all that remains is to interpret it generation by generation. Historic Christianity roots itself in “God-breathed scriptures” that are “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Islam’s Qur’an is held to be a perfect reflection of the ‘Umm al-Kitab – the “mother of Books” that exists with Allah Himself. In addition, both Christianity and Islam share the concept of “The Word” – a concept …

Putting The Amish To Work: Mennonites And The Amish Culture Market, 1950-1975, David Weaver-Zercher

Bible & Religion Educator Scholarship

Analyzes Mennonite representations of the Amish during the third quarter of the twentieth century in the United States. Discussion on the culture of Amish and Mennonite communities in Pennsylavania; Views of Grant Stoltzfus, a Mennonite churchman, on the way Amish and Mennonite cultures are depicted by the mass media.