Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Truth From Fiction: The Apologetic Use Of Christian Allegorical Literature In The 21st Century, Terri Nicole Boutte

Masters Theses

Christian allegorical literature is a genre that explores apologetic claims in a unique and creative way. Although this genre has attracted many readers over the years, there is hesitation and reluctancy to accept Christian allegorical literature as a genre that should be used as an apologetic method. Namely, the didactic intent of this genre has caused some critics to question whether Christian allegorical literature promotes critical reading and thinking skills in a way that leads readers to make their own spiritual decisions. Some skeptics believe that sharing theistic truths that are disguised by fictional storylines is a creative way to …

Καθαρός, The Pure: Setting Narrative In The Fourth-Century Roman Empire, Emma Branstetter

Honors Program Projects

This thesis illustrates the development of the Christian historical fiction novella named Καθαρός set in the early fourth century of Christian history closely following the events of the Great Persecution and its long-term effects on Christian communities in Asia Minor and North Africa. Previous Christian novels set in the Roman era primarily focus on the first century, and with the significant thematic potential found in later centuries after the life and resurrection of Christ, I embarked on this writing project. The research that affects my narrative is separated into four categories: the history and effects of Diocletian’s Great Persecution, fourth-century …

Intro To Jewish American Literature, Amy W. Kratka

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

The Need For Christian Authors In Mainstream Fiction, Ashley Renea Starnes

Masters Theses

Fiction is an effective and underutilized tool in Christian circles to implicitly illustrate Christian ideas and values to readers of other worldviews. By adopting the writing approach of authors like J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, Christian writers can enter into the broad discussion of philosophy, morality, and theology going on in popular fiction.

The Novels You Re-Read, David Schelhaas

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"In this essay I will show how novel reading—and especially novel re-reading—can do what Zylstra says: 'disclose God’s glory for human delight.'"

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the satisfaction of reading familiar stories from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/the-novels-you-re-read/

See The Story, Live The Story, Patricia C. Kornelis

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.

In Defense Of Halloween, Or In Defense Of The Better Story, Howard Schaap

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"We certainly have different capacities for story to disturb us, but I stand by the claim that it’s when a story splashes through the placid water of our lives that truth gets in."

Posting about creative and imaginative stories from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/in-defense-of-halloween-or-in-defense-of-the-better-story/

Janice Holt Giles And The "White Caps” Of Kentucky, Michael R. Brown

Library Staff Presentations & Publications

Janice Holt Giles (1905-1979) has more to say about the Brethren in Christ than any other novelist or popular writer;' in fact, she stands alone. Her 25 books, written from 1950 to 1975, sold four million copies in her lifetime, and some remain in print and have recently attracted renewed interest. Primarily noted for her historical fiction about the Western frontier, she is also noted for novels and memoirs set in her adopted state of Kentucky. Of these, four describe or characterize the Brethren in Christ at varying length and another three mention or make allusions to them. One novel, …

Learning To Love Literature, John Baas

Staff Work

"I keep finding people to admire in books."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­developing a love of reading from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/learning-to-love-literature/

Why Such An Interest In Priests?, Eamon Maher

Articles

Before dealing with any more representations of the priest in modern literature, I thought it might be useful to share some personal experiences which give a context to the origin and inspiration of this series.

Faith In Our Fathers: Can You Believe In Fictional Priests?, Eamon Maher

Articles

I was struck recently by an article that appeared in the online section ofthe Irish Times (November 14th. 2015). Written by a priest called Martin Boland, the piece was prompted by the publication of a novel by John Boyne, A History of Loneliness, which has as its main protagonist Fr Odran Yates, who is forced to live in an Ireland where the priest is more likely to be viewed as a paedophile or pariah than as a respected member of society. Clearly a novelist as disaffected as Boyne admits to being with the Catholic Church, would find it hard to …

Review :Thirty-Three Good Men : Celibacy, Obedience And Identity By John Weafer, Eamon Maher

Articles

No abstract provided.

Catholic Sensibility In The Early Fiction Of Edna O'Brien, Eamon Maher

Articles

No abstract provided.

Avant - Propos, Eamon Maher, Catherine Maignant

Articles

No abstract provided.

Tracing The Imprint: Catholicism In Some Twentieth Century Irish Fiction, Eamon Maher

Articles

In a seminal article published in Studies in 1965, Augustine Martin noted now Irish writers were characterised by what he termed 'inherited dissent', a tendency that led them to replace their original religious faith with blends of the mystical and aesthetic:

Dis-Manteling More, Peter Iver Kaufman

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, winner of the prestigious 2009 Booker-Man award for fiction, re-presents the 1520s and early 1530s from Thomas Cromwell's perspective. Mantel mistakenly underscores Cromwell's confessional neutrality and imagines his kindness as well as Thomas More's alleged cruelty. The book recycles old and threadbare accusations that More himself answered. "Dis-Manteling" collects evidence for the accuracy of More's answers and supplies alternative explanations for events and for More's attitudes that Mantel packs into her accusations. Wolf Hall is admirably readable, although prejudicial. Perhaps it is fair for fiction to distort so ascertainably, yet I should think that historians will …

Neal, Mary Julia, 1905-1995 (Mss 4), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Correspondence, speeches, and writings of Shaker scholar and English professor, Mary Julia Neal, a native of Auburn, Kentucky. Neal served as director of the Kentucky Building at Western Kentucky University from 1964 to 1972. Includes photos and correspondence with twentieth century eastern Shakers.

Island Culture: The Role Of The Blasket Autobiographies In The Preservation Of A Traditional Way Of Life, Eamon Maher

Articles

The Blasket Islands, located off the west coast of Kerry, are remarkable for having inspired a flourishing literature, mainly autobiographical in nature, which is generally acknowledged as being of great anthropological value, as well as of significant literary merit. When one considers that the islands never had a population of more than around 160 persons (with an average of closer to half that number) during the years covered by the autobiographies, the existence of such an important chronicle of the simple and at times perilous life on these Atlantic outposts is all the more noteworthy. The language spoken on the …

Language, The Other And God: On Italo Calvino's Last Novels, Richard Grigg

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

To the extent that Italo Calvino's novels point us toward a God beyond the God who died with the advent of modern nihilism, they are an important resource for constructing just that kind of notion of the divine that is required by the contemporary cultural situation: a notion that is an alternative to both theism and atheism. While theism cannot withstand the corrosive forces integral to the modern world view, atheism makes the fatal mistake of supposing that there is no longer any dimension of ultimacy available to contemporary persons. The God we have been led to by Calvino's last …