Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, And Hell: Concepts Of The Afterlife In The Bible, Félix H. Cortez, Keldie Paroschi

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

"Nightmares With The Bible: The Good Book And Cinematic Demons"[Review]/Wiggins, Steve A, Nathaniel Gibbs

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review by Nathaniel Gibbs.

"Has Archaeology Buried The Bible?" [Review]/Dever, William G., Aberlardo Rivas

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review by Aberlardo Rivas.

Apologetic-Based Curriculum Addressing Intellectual Skepticism Among Young Adults In Knoxville, Tennessee And The Surrounding Areas, Bryan Laue

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

In the Knoxville community, young adults who lack biblical knowledge and confidence struggle to accept question and answer Bible study guides without additional intellectual support. This struggle by young adults is attributed to a lack of knowledge and trust in the Bible as the Word of God. In addition, I have observed that when young adults read the Bible, it evokes feelings of alienation and distance from the spiritual conversation when underlying doubt in the Bible is present. One contributing factor is the lack of extra-biblical apologetics within question and answer study guides.

Method

An apologetic-based curriculum was designed …

Training Local Church Leaders To Study And Teach The Bible Inductively At Manteca Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Bruce Blum

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Seventh-day Adventist churches in Northern California are experiencing a trend toward larger districts and fewer pastors per capita. A decreasing pastoral presence means that local churches are more dependent on volunteers to lead out in the spiritual care and feeding of the church family. In this setting, much depends on the competence of volunteers who teach the Bible. Most of these volunteers have not had the benefit of formal training in hermeneutics, biblical languages, or effective teaching methods, yet they are called on to facilitate Scripture study that leads to inspiration, engagement, and transformation.

Method

I proposed in this …

Isaac Newton As A Prophetic Interpreter, Kenneth Jørgensen

Dissertations

Throughout his life, Sir Isaac Newton was deeply dedicated to the science of decoding biblical apocalyptic writings. To understand and appreciate Newton's prophetic scheme, it will be advantagous to have a certain grasp of what sources and ideas might have influenced him. No comprehensive study before this one has helped us see Newton from that perspective. A survey of the development of canonical apocalyptic hermeneutic and interpretation, beginning before the time of Christ and ending with Newton, shows that four distinct systems of hermeneutics had developed by that time. Historicism was the earliest and the preferred system among Protestants until …

Worldviews: Concepts Or Narratives? An Integrative Definition To Assess Their Controlling Effect In The Biblical And Atheistic Evolutionary Models, Flavio Prestes Iii

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

What are worldviews? What are their characteristics? How do they work? This article offers tentative responses to these questions through the integration of concepts and narratives. Using the biblical and the atheistic evolutionary narratives as case studies, it also seeks to show how worldviews have a significant, though not absolute, controlling effect on one’s perception of reality.

A Biblical Approach For An Inner Healing Discipleship Cycle For Migrants And Refugees, Diói Cruz

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Within the Adventist Church many immigrants struggle silently with the consequences of emotional pain, fear, failure, anxiety, stress, inadequate parenting, rejection, and abusive relationships. Many try to cope with the ongoing results of involvement in the occult or other false religions, and the effects of physical illness, accidents, and trauma continue to impact their lives. It is God’s desire that we prosper and be in good health (3 John 2) because he created us in his image. “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Therefore, if we are to reflect his image we must …

Two Models Of Inspiration?: The Challenge Of The Old Testament Narratives, Bernard White

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

"...it is not that the “two-model” view is wrong in seeking to show that inspiration was not always functioning in the same way in the biblical authors. It is simply that it is inadequate: the research model cannot be applied wholesale to the non-prophetic books, even to narratives alone. Short of declaring many of the OT narratives to be fiction, it therefore seems necessary to posit that certain of them, or sections of them, were supernaturally revealed to the authors. The prophetic model, in other words, is far more widespread a phenomenon of Scripture than the “two-model” view would suggest. …

“My Heart Falters, Fear Makes Me Tremble” (Isaiah 21:4 Niv): Emotions And Prophetic Writings In The Bible, Gerald A. Klingbeil, Chantal J. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

"Emotions are an intricate part of what it means to be human. They are part of complex coping mechanisms installed by a Creator God whose own emotions are reflected in humanity’s creation in the imago Dei, the “image of God” (Gen. 1:27).¹ Joy, exuberance, anticipation, pleasure, delight, and happiness, must have all been part of God’s original make-up of humanity, for they characterize our existence today. We also experience, however, anger, sadness, sorrow, fear, depression, dejection, misery, and fury—emotions that became part of our emotive repertoire following the Fall in Genesis 3.²

Unfortunately, we have traditionally …

The Life And Witness Of Peter, Denis Fortin

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Chronology Of The Events In Zechariah 12-14, Won Jin Jeon

Honors Theses

In current scholarship, there is a lack of consensus on the timing of the specific events in Zechariah 12-14, with a focus on eschatological or sequential chronologies. Preliminary exegetical research has revealed many connections between the three chapters. For instance, the phrase “in that day” ( ביום־ההוא ) occurs 17 times (versus four times in the rest of Zechariah). This concentrated usage closely interconnects the three chapters and suggests that the timeliness of all of the events is in close succession. Through findings in literary structures, key words, and intertextualities with other passages of the Old Testament, the conclusion is …

Genesis 3 As A Model For Understanding The Nature Of Sin And Salvation, Jiri Moskala Thd, Phd

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

"In order to perceive the nature of sin clearly, it is necessary to freshly investigate what is sin and its consequences according to God’s revelation. This biblical-theological study is principally limited to Genesis chap. 3."

God And “Gods” — Poetic Ambiguity And Wordplay: A Proposal Towards A Better Understanding Of Ps 82, Dragoslava Santrac

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

The purpose of this article is twofold: 1) to attempt to demonstrate deliberate poetic ambiguity in Ps 82, and 2) to show that deliberate poetic ambiguity in Ps 82, if it exists, is not simply an expression of the poet’s artistic creativity, but conveys also the theological message of the psalm. The following steps are undertaken to meet this purpose: 1) briefly look at the main interpretations of the psalm, 2) discuss the literary technique of poetic ambiguity in the Psalms, 3) discern possible poetic ambiguity in the psalm, and 4) understand Ps 82 theologically in the light of deliberate …

Develando Una Perspectiva Bíblica De La Sabiduría, Gustavo Gregorutti

Faculty Publications

This essay looks for ways to understand some of the characteristics of the biblical paradigm of wisdom. Being wise implies that the person who possesses it, to a greater or lesser degree, is able to handle circumstances to achieve the welfare of others and of one’s self. Developing wisdom does not seem to be related to personal characteristics. It is actually a series of identification processes with the biblical worldview that conditions daily behavior. To illustrate these concepts, this study makes a comparison using the cases of Daniel and Samson as a continuum that goes from more toward less wisdom. …

Learning From The Giants : Life And Leadership Lessons From The Bible, By John C. Maxwell, Paul Wilmot

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

LEARNING FROM THE GIANTS: LIFE AND LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE BIBLE, By John C. Maxwell. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group (2014) Paperback, 160 pages

"Direct scriptural support is provided to facilitate ongoing personal study of these leaders, allowing for extended exploration of the lives of these mentors to see tangible examples of where the lessons were learned. Working from the assumption that we still experience similar challenges and therefore will benefit from applying these lessons today, Maxwell helps us to explore a combination of life and leadership lessons. As we learn, we recognize that the life lessons we learn …

The Spirit Of The Lord And Obedience To God's Law : An Exegetical, Intertextual, And Theological Study Of Ezekiel 36:27, James Waita Mutua

Dissertations

Problem

In Ezek 36:27, God foretells that he will put his Spirit within his people and he will “do” so that Israel will obey his laws. Ezekiel 36:27 indicates a close relationship between the Spirit of God and Israel in observing the statutes and judgments of God in the Babylonian exile among the nations and after the exile. In this text, every major phrase and clause has varied interpretations or calls for further investigation. Not only do scholars have different interpretations of the verse, but also the English Bible versions vary in their translations. This leads to the following questions: …

The Pluriformity Of The Alexandrian Text-Type In The Catholic Epistles, Coster Shimbaba Munyengwe

Dissertations

The Alexandrian text-type is traditionally known by textual critics to exist in two groups. In the mid-1970s, W. Larry Richards discovered a third Alexandrian group in his study of the Johannine Epistles. Kenneth Keumsang Yoo’s study of 1 Peter in 2001 confirmed the existence of the third group. This study attempted to determine whether the so-called third Alexandrian group exists in all of the books of the Catholic Epistles, and what the characteristics are of the readings in this group. Using factor analysis to form tentative groups for thirty manuscripts previously classified as Alexandrian in all three groups in the …

"The Anchor Of The Soul That Enters Within The Veil": The Ascension Of The "Son" In The Letter To The Hebrews, Felix H. Cortez

Dissertations

Problem
This dissertation studies the nature of Jesus’ ascension to heaven and its role in the argument of Hebrews.

Method
The study consists of an analysis of those passages in which Jesus’ ascension is referred to directly (Heb 1:6; 4:14-16; 6:19-20; 9:11-14, 24; 10:19-22) and a study of the imagery Hebrews uses to couch its theology, giving special attention to the role of this imagery in the progression of the argument. The study is both exegetical and theological in nature, seeking to provide an analysis of specific passages as well as systematization of their import.

Results
The six passages that …

Theology Of Judgment In Genesis 6-9, Chun Sik Park

Dissertations

The present dissertation seeks to develop a theology of judgment in Gen 6-9. Following an introductory chapter, the second chapter is devoted to analyzing the three main extrabiblical ANE flood stories (the Eridu Genesis, the Atra-Hasis Epic, and the Gilgamesh Epic) from the four aspects of judgment: date, cause and purpose, extent, and procedure. The analysis of those stories reveals that the ANE flood was a historical and local (global dimension is implied) event without moral cause, and that the judgment of the deities had a procedure of investigation, sentence, execution, and mitigation. The third chapter treats the theology of …

Book Review Of An Annotated Guide To Biblical Resources For Ministry, By David R. Bauer, Teresa Reeve

Teresa Reeve

No abstract provided.

The Seed In Genesis 3:15 : An Exegetical And Intertextual Study, Afolarin Olutunde Ojewole

Dissertations

The Topic

This dissertation seeks to ascertain the meaning and referent of the “seed” and its related pronouns in Gen 3:15.

The Purpose

The meaning and referent of “seed” and its related pronouns in Gen 3:15 have been discussed throughout the history of Jewish and Christian interpretation. This dissertation analyzes Gen 3:15 exegetically, intratextually, and intertextually, tracing the meaning of this “seed” in Genesis, the rest of the Old Testament, and the New Testament. The Introduction briefly surveys the centuries of the Jewish and Christian interpretations of Gen 3:15 classifying them into related categories such as literal, naturalistic, historical, political, …

Indicators Of Typology Within The Old Testament : The Exodus Motif, Friedbert Ninow

Dissertations

The Topic

This dissertation seeks to ascertain whether there are indicators of Exodus typology within the Old Testament.

The Purpose

Based on R. M. Davidson’s definition of biblical typology, various elements that comprise biblical typology such as the historical aspect, divine design, prophetic aspect, Steigerung (intensification), and eschatology are traced in a number of texts that deal with the Exodus motif. This examination seems to be crucial for establishing the exegetical and hermeneutical basis for the use of Exodus typology by the New Testament writers. Chapter 1 surveys the perception and use of typology throughout the centuries up to the …

Biblical Narratives And Christian Decision, Miroslav Kis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Biblical Narratives And Christian Decision, Miroslav Kis

Miroslav Kis

No abstract provided.

Metaphors And Similes For Yahweh In Hosea 14:2-9 (1-8) : A Study Of Hoseanic Pictorial Language, Bernhard Oestreich

Dissertations

Problem.

Compared with the effort to interpret other parts of the book of Hosea, especially the first three chapters, the final chapter has been rather neglected. Additionally, the variety of explanations offered for certain biblical images in Hos 14 indicates a necessity to clarify the methods of interpretation of biblical metaphorical language.

Method.

Chapter 1 clarifies the theory of metaphors on which the study is based.

Chapter 2 determines the limitation and the structure of the passage Hos 2:2-9 (Eng. 1-8). In chapters 3 to 6 the metaphors and similes of this passage which refer to Yahweh, i.e., "healing," "loving," …

The Sacred Times Prescribed In The Pentateuch : Old Testament Indicators Of The Extent Of Their Applicability, H. Ross Cole

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the sacred times prescribed in the Pentateuch and to determine if the Old Testament itself contains indicators of the extent of their applicability. "Applicability" refers primarily to ongoing applicability throughout time. However, whether a sacred time will be universally applicable in the future may be directly related to whether it was ever meant to be universally applicable in the first place. Accordingly, this study entails a close examination of many different features of the Pentateuchal sacred times and their applicability.

Chapter 1 reviews relevant literature and describes the present investigator's methodology. On …

An Intellectual Approach To The Communication Of The Biblical Message To Secular People, Michele Buonfiglio

Professional Dissertations DMin

One of the most important responsibilities given Christians is to "make disciples from all nations." This includes secular people. The communication of the biblical message to secular people is a complex and difficult assignment. The difficulty increases when secular people are intellectuals. Many currents of thought including philosophy and scientific understandings of reality have contributed to the formation of the Western secular mind.

In Part One of the dissertation, philosophical, theological, and scientific theories that have contributed to the development of the process of secularization are considered. The section culminates with a profile of secular people. The methods and strategy …

The Name Israel And Related Expressions In The Books Of Amos And Hosea, Ganoune Diop

Dissertations

This study provides an investigation of the occurrences of the designation "Israel," the related names "Judah," "Jacob," "Joseph," "Isaac," "David," "Ephraim," and their combinations in the books of Amos and Hosea in order to find out their referents and the reasons for their usages. Chapter 1 provides a statement of the problem, pointing out the considerable divergence of opinions regarding the etymology, origin, and usage of the designation "Israel." Chapter 2 begins with a review of etymological and historical points of view in order to provide a background for the study. Then follows a review of the literature that addresses …

The Eschatological Judgment In Job 19:21-29 : An Exegetical Study, Gordon E. Christo

Dissertations

Practically all scholars today acknowledge the juridical features of the book of Job. The purpose of this study is to identify the legal event that Job is understood to believe would take place in the eschaton.

Chapter 1 first analyzes the significance of the place of our passage in the structure of the book. Job 19 is found to be the center of a structurally balanced composition. Further study of structure reveals that v s s . 25-27b can be viewed as: (1) the heart of the chiasm in 19:21-29, (2) the node of that speech, and (3) a pivot …