Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Biblical Choice Model: A St. Augustine-Inspired Approach To Behavioral Economics, Adebukola Adebayo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Economics as defined by Lionel Robbins (1932), is a science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. While human behavior relates to how wants and desires are coordinated given decision-making mechanisms, social customs and political realities of society, the natural end of individual human actions should be eudaimonia (human flourishing). However, since sin has affected both our emotive and cultural plausibility structures, thereby leading to a distortion in our wants and desires and ability to desire the good, this has led to a generation that is self-ruling, self-creating and self-evaluating. The …

Review Of Gender As Love: A Theological Account Of Human Identity, Embodied Desire, And Our Social Worlds, Joseph A. Dennis

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

This review of Gender as Love offers a summary and critical analysis of Dr. Fellipe do Vale’s trailblazing work on gender identity, human love, and the placement of both within God’s economy.

Charge The Cockpit Or Die: An Anatomy Of Fear-Driven Political Rhetoric In American Conservatism, Daniel Hostetter

Senior Honors Theses

Subthreshold negative emotions have superseded conscious reason as the initial and strongest motivators of political behavior. Political neuroscience uses the concepts of negativity bias and terror management theory to explore why fear-driven rhetoric plays such an outsized role in determining human political actions. These mechanisms of human anthropology are explored by competing explanations from biblical and evolutionary scholars who attempt to understand their contribution to human vulnerabilities to fear. When these mechanisms are observed in fear-driven political rhetoric, three common characteristics emerge: exaggerated threat, tribal combat, and religious apocalypse, which provide a new framework for explaining how modern populist leaders …

Platonism’S Influence On The Hermeneutic Of Augustine: Exploring The Philosophical Roots Of Augustine’S Interpretive Approach, Kent T. Maitland

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

This paper contends that Augustine was a significant contributor to the “Spiritual Vision Model” of the Christian conception of heaven described by Craig Blaising. This model is premised on the Platonic understanding of perfection in which the soul unites with the Good, and heaven is primarily a cognitive state in which the individual possesses perfect spiritual knowledge. This model also provides a rational basis for favoring a figurative or spiritualized interpretation of Scripture over its literal meaning. Augustine’s early life and conversion reflects a commitment to the SVM’s Platonic ideals, as demonstrated in his deference to Cicero, his journey into …

A Patristic Christological Defense: Utilizing The Patristic View Of The Incarnation As A Defense Against The Problem Of Suffering, Scott Steven Hyland Sr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

At issue is the question of whether it is logically consistent to embrace the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent God in the presence of evil and suffering. Many factors prima facie seem to indicate that the existence of such a God in the presence of an abundance of pain, evil, and suffering is logically incoherent. If such a God does exist, why does He allow the evil and suffering that He does? Hume asserts, such a being should be capable of preventing evil and suffering. Van Inwagen argues that the existence of a world that is constantly modified to …

On Natural Evil: Augustine, Plantinga, And Hick, Andrew James Delaney

Masters Theses

This paper examines the philosophical problem of natural evil. Natural evil in the world creates a stumbling block between people and their faith in God. What can be said of the coexistence of God and evil in the world? The purpose of this paper is to address the criticisms of Christianity in light of natural evil and to share several theistic responses to the problem of natural evil. Specific considerations are made to the greater context of the story of humanity. Alvin Plantinga's free-will defense is evaluated first as a foundation for discussion. Contributions from Augustine, John Hick, William Rowe, …

Jus Post Bellum And The Augustinian Worldview, Edward Anthony Herty

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Augustine of Hippo wrote a great deal regarding the subject of state-sponsored armed conflict. His views have been categorized into the concepts of jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and, more recently, jus post bellum. Jus ad bellum and jus in bello address the moral responsibilities of a nation and its sovereign as the decision to enter into conflict is made and as agents of the state endeavor to keep human suffering to a minimum. Jus post bellum is a more recent ideal that has, since World War I, addressed the need to establish a long-lasting peace upon the conclusion …

Augustine's Diverse Epistemology: Love, Reason, And Presupposition, Joseph Carson

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

In Saint Augustine’s works, especially in The City of God, The Confessions, and On Free Choice of the Will, he offers three features integral to his epistemology: love, reason, and presupposition. By love, Augustine argues that virtuous lovers of God will know the Truth more than those with disordered loves. By reason, Augustine held that reason must guide the journey to Truth. By presupposition, Augustine claimed that the search for Truth only starts from Christian doctrine. While modern philosophers might see a tension when simultaneously holding these three principles in his epistemology, Augustine claimed they were mutually …

De Libero Conscientia: Martin Luther’S Rediscovery Of Liberty Of Conscience And Its Synthesis Of The Ancients And The Influence Of The Moderns, Bessie S. Blackburn

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

One fateful day on March 26, 1521, a lowly Augustinian monk was cited to appear before the Diet of Worms.[1] His habit trailed behind him as he braced for the questioning. He was firm, yet troubled. He boldly proclaimed: “If I am not convinced by proofs from Scripture, or clear theological reasons, I remain convinced by the passages which I have quoted from Scripture, and my conscience is held captive by the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract, for it is neither prudent nor right to go against one’s conscience. So help me God, …

Substance And Person In Tertullian And Augustine, Andrew P. Hillaker

Fidei et Veritatis: The Liberty University Journal of Graduate Research

The doctrine of the Trinity has been a focal point of Christian thinking throughout Church history. While the term “Trinity” does not appear in the biblical text, it is still a vital Christian doctrine. The doctrine, however, has not come without controversy. Various understandings of the doctrine have been presented throughout Church history. Tertullian (ca. 160-220 AD) and Augustine (354-430 AD) represent two of the foremost theologians to discuss the issue. Tertullian was one of the first to thoroughly examine the doctrine. He coined the terms “substance” and “person” in his discussion of the doctrine. These terms would come to …

When Two Become One: Reconsidering Marriage As A Sacrament In Protestant Theology, Adam Neal

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Protestant theology has historically rejected marriage as sacrament, a rejection which continues to resound in the majority of contemporary Protestant scholarship. Yet many, if not most, arguments against sacramental marriage tacitly follow an outline set forward by Luther and Calvin which, if examined with critical scrutiny, is based on a problematic soteriological premise. In light of this, the present study sets forward a comprehensive argument in favor of Protestant theology reaffirming marriage as a sacrament through systematic investigation into the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), New Testament, and Christian history. After developing a critical hermeneutic founded on realist epistemological grounds, a …

A Review Of John Rists' "Augustine On Free Will And Predestination", Caleb H. A. Brown

Quaerens Deum: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal for Philosophy of Religion

In this paper I seek to summarize and critique John Rist’s article “Augustine on Free Will and Predestination.” Rist treats Augustine with honesty. When someone is as prominent, loved, and recognized as Augustine, when someone has as much authority as he does, the temptation to manipulate his writings into saying things which agree with one’s own position is strong. Rist resists this temptation, even concluding that Augustine holds a position on free will and predestination which Rist finds highly objectionable. But in his objections to Augustine’s position, Rist does not do justice to the whole system of Augustine’s thought. In …

Redeeming Rhetoric: Augustine's Use Of Rhetoric In His Preaching Ministry, John A. Sypert

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

The art and practice of rhetoric occupied a fundamental place in the ancient Roman world. It is thus not surprising that Augustine (354-430 AD) was deeply committed to the art of speaking well. He spent his youth mastering the theory of rhetoric, putting into practice what he had learned during a preaching career of almost forty years. This essay examines elements of rhetoric in Augustine’s preaching, arguing that he purposely appropriated common rhetorical elements in his preaching for the purpose of making Scripture both plain and compelling to his audience. Augustine’s training in rhetoric is summarized, followed by an overview …

The Predestination Debate: A Harmony Of Corporate Election And Individual Election, Bradley Smith

Senior Honors Theses

The topic of predestination has been discussed throughout church history in the work of men like Augustine, Pelagius, Calvin, Arminius, and Barth. Corporate election seeks to reconcile some problematic areas of Calvinistic and Arminian theology by arguing that in the same way that God chose the nation of Israel through His election of Abraham, so He also chose the Church through His election of Jesus Christ. Despite this view’s seemingly convincing evidence, Scripture points far beyond its main tenets. God’s unconditional election of individuals ought to be foundational to the understanding of corporate election. This study will discuss and interact …

Ever Learning, Ever Loving: Augustine On Teaching As Ministry, Ronnie P. Campbell Jr.

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

While most remember Augustine (354-430 AD) as theologian, exegete, and philosopher, the purpose of this essay is to consider Augustine’s legacy and ministry as teacher. After his conversion (386 AD), Augustine’s views on teaching took a turn. His theological convictions thus set the course for his views on teaching throughout the rest of his life. It is to such views on teaching that this essay seeks to examine. Therefore this essay will wrestle through Augustine’s views on the role of the teacher and the learner and the link between the two, his theological basis for teaching, and some of the …

Book Reviews

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Review by Shane Kraeger of Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament: Colossians and Philemon. by Murray J. Harris. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010. xxxii + 272 pp., $24.99.

Review by Joshua C. Stone of To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World by James Davison Hunter. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, 358pp., $27.95.

Review by R. Lee Webb of Interpreting the Psalms for Teaching and Preaching. Eds. Herbert W. Bateman IV and D. Brent Sandy. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2010, 292 pp., $34.99.

Review by Roberto Rodriguez-Nunez of Augustine as …

Scholarship And Ministry In The Life And Thought Of Augustine, Anthony C. Thornhill

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Augustine is frequently recognized as one of the greatest Christian theologians in all of church history. His influence extends to both Protestant and Catholic circles, and his numerous theological works are still referenced by today's students of theology. The context of his theological writings are often overlooked. While he did, on occasion, seek to write weighty and intricate theological works, his primary focus was upon better equipping himself to minister to the believers he served as the bishop of Hippo. This is clearly evidenced in his sermons and his letters, which provide an important window into his historical context.