Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Bishop Bo Harald Giertz-Pietism And The Ordo Salutis-The Office Of The Holy Ministry, The Word, And Soul Care, Eric Andrae

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Though acknowledged as one of the most influential European churchman of the past century, and widely lauded in American Lutheran circles as the author of the acclaimed The Hammer of God, much remains to be learned in the U.S. of Bishop Emeritus Dr. Bo Harald Giertz (Gothenburg [Goteborg] diocese, Church of Sweden, served 1949-1970) and of his theology, especially concerning the specific doctrine which served as the foundation of the novel, the Order of Grace. Furthermore, interest in Giertz in America is increasing rapidly: several translation projects are underway, a film based on the first chapter of The Hammer of …

The Old Testament Source Of Rev 21:3c, Helen Cadogan

Master of Art Theology Thesis

This paper intends an assessment of the textual form of Rev 21:3c as an OT reference; as such it may have something to contribute to the discussion commenced by Menken and continued by Schuchard on deciphering the form of the OT in the NT. Even though other aspects of Revelation study may be vital, the limitations of this research preclude more than the most cursory excursion, if any at all, into the ongoing dialogue on the use of the OT in the NT,language, style, authorship, unity, symbolism, the historical context of Revelation, or whether the author of the Gospel, the …

Developing Adult Faith Formation At Our Lady Of Guadalupe Parish, Helotes, Jane M. Abernathy

Pastoral Institute

My project will be to offer assistance to the staff of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Helotes, Texas, in the area of adult faith formation. This will be a two-part project over the course of a nine-month period. The first part will be to examine various Scripture Study programs, select one as a "test," offer it in the Fall of 2002, and evaluate it for possible continuation or rejection.

The second element of this project will be to assess the needs, desires and availability of adults regarding other aspects of adult faith formation. Our Lady of Guadalupe is a …

Christianity In The Lives Of Highly Educated African American Women, Cecelia J. Travick-Jackson

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This ethnography describes the function of Christianity in the lives of three uncelebrated well-educated African American women. The women are members of academia who hold doctorate degrees. The study gives insight into the function of Christianity in the private and professional lives of the participants. Although their experiences were diverse, the participants were of one accord in understanding Christianity as a coping strategy that provided them with a mechanism to read and interpret the events of their lives.

Womanism is a way of giving name to the lived experiences of African American women. All of the participants shared stories about …

A History Of "Especially For Youth" - 1976-1986, John Bytheway

Theses and Dissertations

The summer of 2002 marked the 26th anniversary of the youth camp “Especially for Youth” (EFY). Over 34,000 teenagers from across the United States, Canada and several foreign countries gathered on thirty-one different college campuses to attend one of the sixty-four sessions of the five-day program. Since the first session in 1976, Especially for Youth has enjoyed steady increases in attendance and popularity. Beginning in the early 1980s, the program's success reached the point that applicants were turned away because there was not enough space to house all those who wanted to attend.

EFY is sponsored by Brigham Young University …

John B. Fairbanks: The Man Behind The Canvas, Rachel Cope

Theses and Dissertations

A biographical sketch of artist John B. Fairbanks, this thesis primarily probes Fairbanks' evolution as an artist. From amateur, to art missionary, to professional artist, Fairbanks influenced his cultural surroundings in Utah and in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His commitment to his career and his impact on others significantly affected Utah and Mormon art. Thus it is important to understand and recognize the full portrait of John B. Fairbanks.

John B. Fairbanks, born on 27 December 1855, developed an interest in art while still young. Until reaching the age of thirty-four, he often worked as an …

Latter-Day Saints In Popular National Periodicals 1970-1981, Adam H. Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

The public image of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the product of several factors. This thesis investigates that image as presented in national periodicals from 1970 to 1981. During this time "Mormons" and "Mormonism" was a popular topic as the religion gained notoriety, and as an awareness of its peculiar beliefs and practices increased.

The rationale for using national magazines to assess public image is the assumption that they "reflect prevailing points of view" and help "formulate public opinion." Since popular attitudes are one of the factors that influence how the Church is accepted in the …

A Latter-Day Saint Perspective On Evaluation, Courtney Miriam Glenn Peck

Theses and Dissertations

Evaluation scholars argue that evaluation as a discipline has traditionally rested on the assumption that knowledge should and can be evaluated objectively. As a result, evaluation has focused too much on techniques and methods, becoming paramountly an objective and technical enterprise that disregards any personal or moral responsibility that evaluators have.

How would a Latter-day Saint perspective of evaluation reframe evaluation as a moral rather than technical enterprise? The doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides powerful insights for evaluation that place moral responsibility in the forefront of evaluation. Knowledge in an LDS perspective is not …

Defying Secularization, Sean W Anthony

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Building In Egypt Between Craft And Industry, Ola Salah Said

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Image Of God And Human Identity: An Explanation Informed By The Two Kinds Of Righteousness, Lucas Woodford

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

For centuries discussion and debate over the image of God has engaged theologians of every tradition. What is the image of God? Of what does it consist? How does Scripture speak of this image? Does it relate to all human beings? Establishing answers and definitions to such questions is a difficult yet vitally important task. Significant to these discussions are the implications that such definitions will have upon the understanding of human identity and human existence.

Treatments on the image of God have a variety of definitions and interpretations depending on the individual theologian and their theological tradition. There are …

An Examination Of The Left, Right And Center Parties In The American Lutheran Controversy Of The Mid-Nineteenth Century, Philip Hendrickson

Master of Art Theology Thesis

James Voelz recently published a two-part essay in Concordia Journal entitled, “Contemporary Americans Make Poor Confessional Lutherans."! In his essay, Dr. Voelz points out that the rampant liberty that permeates American life is constantly at odds with the desire of Lutherans to remain confessional, doctrinal and liturgical. He states, "All of the factors involved in such a church, viz., doctrinal formulations, confessional statements, and uniform liturgical practices, are restrictive and non-libertarian. They rub against the grain of every contemporary American. Which means that to embrace them is to be truly counter-cultural.”

This tension between being Lutheran and being American is …

The Lord's Prayer In The Eucharist, Sherri L. Vallee

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This paper presents an exegetical analysis of the petitions of the Lord's Prayer followed by an historical and theological review of its ritual usage within the communion rite. By examining each petition in detail, we see a close parallel between the contents of this prayer and the contents of the Eucharistic Prayer. This prayer helps us to more concretely grasp what it means to be a eucharistic people. Given this understanding the Lord's Prayer's ritual usage is examined throughout history. In particular, we look at shifts in who prays the various parts of the prayer during the liturgy, the contents …

Killing And Making Alive As The Vital Work Of The Spirit In Preaching According To Martin Luther, Peter Kirby

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

The Protestant Reformation involved a recovery of just this distinction between primary and secondary discourse, and not only the distinction, but the priority of "primary" discourse, that is, the necessity of Gospel as the Word that forgives in the here and now.

Hermeneutical Implications Of Certain Pre-Pauline Passages In The Pauline Corpus Of The New Testament, Inta Ivanovska

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Postmodern linguistics and philosophy have challenged the possibility that an author, a text, or a reader of a text possesses or can possess complete objectivity. It claims that an "independent, objective, reason-driven reader" is merely a "communally dependent, subjective, presupposition-bound agent." Similarly, an author is regarded as subject who through the text merely expresses the perspectives he has acquired through his own, contextually-shaped experiences. Moreover, once created, a text is not to be regarded as an entity which bears its own intrinsic meaning; nor is a text the expression of an "original," authorial intent. Rather, a text is merely a …

Submit To Whom? An Exegetical Study Of Romans 13:1-7, Bradley Smith

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This thesis will address the question of referent, specifically, who or what is the referent ̍εξονσια and its parallels in Romans 13:1-7. This is a unique endeavor in recent scholarship on Rom. 13:1-7. For, although much has been written on Rom. 13:1-7, recent scholarship has been concerned with the pragmatic nature of the text. The nature and meaning of submission, the orders of creation in light of the holocaust, and concerns of unjust states are some of the issues driving the research into Rom. 13 in recent years

Receiver, Bearer, And Giver Of God's Spirit-Jesus' Life And Mission In The Spirit As A Ground For Understanding Christology, Trinity, And Proclamation, Leopoldo Sanchez

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

In this project, I assess the usefulness of a Spirit-christology for reflection on Jesus’ perennial question, "But who do you say that I am?" (Mt. 16:15), and its implications for christology itself, trinitarian theology, and the proclamation of Jesus' story.1 I argue that reading the life and mission of Jesus as receiver, bearer, and giver of God's Spirit—i.e., a"Spirit-christology"2 —invigorates and complements classic Logos-oriented approaches to christology, Trinity, and proclamation.

Like many proposals in systematic theology, mine has both critical and constructive tasks. Critically, I investigate some reasons for the partial eclipse of the place of the Holy Spirit in …

Continued Renewal Of Apostolic Religious Life: A Transformative Model, Sister Maria Iannuccillo

Master of Arts in Religious Studies (M.A.R.S. Theses)

Religious Life in the United States has gone through a radical transition in the last thirty-eight years since the close of the Second Vatican Council. With the call of Vatican II to the renewal and updating of Religious Life, most religious congregations have been in a time of renewal, transition, and transformation. However, most religious congregations in the United States have also experienced a period of decline in the number of women entering their congregation, which raises questions about their future prospects. In response to these challenges facing Religious Life in the Catholic Church, particularly in apostolic communities in the …

From Snakes To Meaning: Interpretation And Explanation Of Traditional Sub-Saharan African Religious Ethnographic Data, Joel Mort

Masters Theses

Concerns about accepted approaches to ethnographic data have arisen in terms of how scholars attempt to explain and interpret the formation, transmission, and persistence of seemingly bizarre religious ideas and practices. I would like to suggest a new way to make sense of ethnographic data regarding religious thought and action.

My contention is that the explanatory and interpretive methods employed by the majority of religion scholars are mistakenly and unknowingly informed by intuitive background theories. As a result of using intuitive assumptions rather than an established scientific theoretical tradition as the basis for interpretive inference the conclusions offered by these …

Jeremiah, Defender Of Covenant Faithfulness, Duane A. Brudevold

Seminary Masters Theses

In this study of the topic of true/false prophecy, the author has chosen to review the writings of Jeremiah to determine what criteria were used by Jeremiah, and perhaps the later redactors of the book we call Jeremiah, to determine the truthfulness of Jeremiah's prophecies and the falsity of the prophecies of the temple prophets in Jerusalem. The author pays particular attention to the quotations which Jeremiah says are spoken by his opponents. An attempt is made to determine if these quotations of the opponents give us any clues to Jeremiah's fervent opposition to their statements. The author's analysis shows …

Healthy Families-Healthy Church: A Systematic Approach To Family And Church, Lloyd Thomas Newton

Doctor of Ministry

The Church is a larger family system that experiences some of the same types of functional and dysfunctional characteristics, as does an individual or family. There are many systemic principles and concepts that are applicable to both church and family.

God's family is an example of love based on God's example in all families and His church. God's example is seen in the systemic approach. The Holy Trinity is the perfect example of balance, functionality, competence and relationship. Jesus states, "My Father and I are one" (John 1 0:30). "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9b). …

An Investigation Of Pre-Nursing And Second-Year Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Perception Of Spirituality, Jacquelyn Kay R. Williams

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This pilot study investigated whether spiritual care education is a part of the baccalaureate nursing curriculum at a south Texas university. This study used two standardized scales to compare the pre-nursing students' and senior baccalaureate nursing students' attitude about spirituality at different levels in the nursing program. Two quantitative questionnaires were used to investigate the nursing students' personal spiritual involvement and beliefs and their opinions about the spiritual role of the nurse in meeting patient spiritual needs. No statistically significant differences in the two group's personal spiritual involvement and beliefs were found. Statistically significant differences were found in the opinions …

Fathering The Fatherless, Mark Eric Strong

Doctor of Ministry

The purpose of this study is to aid the pastor in mobilizing the local church to minister to those individuals and persons who are affected by father absenteeism. To accomplish this objective, I seek to understand the nature of the problem from a sociological, psychological and biblical perspective, and then propose a simple strategy to aid the congregation in ministering to the fatherless.

The introduction of the paper defines the issue of father absenteeism, stating why father absenteeism is a problematic trend. Chapter One discusses the causes of father absenteeism. The chapter seeks to answer the question from a sociological …

A Failure To Communicate, Donald R. Tucker

Doctor of Ministry

The Christian Community is currently divorcing at a rate equal to and in some areas higher than the secular society. "Born again Christians are just as likely to get divorced as are non-born again adults. Overall, 33 percent of all born again individuals who have been married have gone through a divorce, which is statistically identical to the 34 percent incidence among non-born again adults."1 In order to intervene in a failing marriage and help prevent divorce, the church will need to develop a new genesis of equipping pastors and lay ministers so that they may effectively model positive communication …

The Jesus Name Controversy-A Doctrinal Development In The Pentecostal Movement Of The Twentieth Century, Paul Buford

Master of Art Theology Thesis

The preceding comments have been about the Pentecostal movement as a whole, but this thesis is concerned primarily with its third stream, the Oneness Pentecostal movement, that deserves attention in its own right. As Walter J. Hollenweger in The Pentecostals observes, there is "also a not inconsiderable group of Pentecostals for whom the only valid baptism is that carried out 'in the name of Jesus. According to Hollenweger, the dispute regarding the correct formula of baptism-a dispute between Trinitarian Pentecostals who baptize in the titles of the Trinity following Matthew 28:19 and the Oneness Pentecostals who baptize in Jesus' name …

Guided By God: The Catholic Church And Political Legitimacy In The Philippines, Steven B. Shirley

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The developing world is witnessing a growing (some may say disturbing) trend towards “de-secularization” of national governments. This trend has been understudied and misunderstood over the past decade. Government experts and scholars alike too often view this trend through the lens of “threat” analysis and in so doing miss key cultural, historical, and political factors at work. This study attempts to redress this problem. By looking at political legitimacy and the role religious organizations such as the Catholic Church may play, a new understanding of how religious institutions can shape and mold governments and policies emerges.

This study focuses specifically …

Legal Witnessing In The Dead Sea Scrolls: Maintaining Purity And Holiness, Jeremy S. Penner

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Military Imagery In Preaching: An Effective Means Of Nurturing A Lutheran Identity In The Military, Mark Steiner

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This major applied project consisted of two parts: a research component addressing the theoretical application of military imagery in preaching to a Lutheran military audience and an evaluative process, which tested the application of military imagery in preaching. The theoretical component, based upon the contributions of literature on cross cultural studies, leadership, strategic planning, rhetoric, and homiletics, recommended a homiletical strategy for preaching military imagery. The evaluative component validated the application of military imagery in preaching and recommended a strategy for promoting organic unity of military imagery with the other elements of the worship service.

Fifty Years Of Theological Education In The Gutnius Lutheran Church Of Papua New Guinea: 1948-1998, John Eggert

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The Gutnius Lutheran Church (GLC) is one of two Lutheran churches in the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea, the other Lutheran church being the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea. This brief review of the geographical, cultural and political settings of Papua New Guinea (PNG) will provide the physical context in which the Gutnius Lutheran Church and the theological education programs, which this study will examine, developed.

The Restoration Of The Permanent Diaconate: A Blending Of Roles, Sherri L. Vallee

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This paper critiques the restoration of the permanent diaconate since Vatican II, focussing on historical discontinuities and theological issues. A core difficulty results from current attempts to merge two separate and distinct sets of functions into one role. Today, deacons are asked to fulfill not only traditional diaconal responsibilities; they are also expected to fulfill many roles that have traditionally been presbyteral functions. These two sets of responsibilities require different sets of charisms and different levels of formation, and do not naturally belong together. Deviating from the service-oriented focus of the diaconate in the early Church and assuming greater leadership …