Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Theological Songwriting, Jake William Dimas

Senior Honors Theses

Music affects people deeply. Because of this, Christian songwriters have a responsibility to write songs that are theologically accurate. To provide a comparison to the experiment that took place for this paper, Chris Tomlin’s biography, songwriting influences, and music are presented and discussed. The experiment began with exclusively Christian songwriters being given an initial questionnaire. A song prompt was then given to each songwriter, and once returned, the songwriter was given a questionnaire. This step took place once again for the other prompt. The songs produced by the songwriters were then analyzed, being compared with one another and with the …

Autism And The Body Of Christ: Understanding, Accommodating, And Accepting Autistic Believers In The Church, Kaitlyn Cook

Senior Honors Theses

Autism is a neurotype that causes a different set of strengths and weaknesses and thus should be embraced and accommodated within the church. Not only are autistic believers able to grasp Christian concepts, but they also have different perspectives and skills that can be instrumental in building up the church. Promoting a correct view of autism and accommodating neurodiversity within the church will allow autistic believers to follow God’s command to be part of a body and build up the church. The church can employ several strategies to create an accessible environment for believers on the spectrum, including creating sensory-safe …

The Role Of Story In The Creation And Life Of Man, Leah Ginion

Senior Honors Theses

Story was created by God as a vehicle for the revelation and glorification of Himself. Man, made in the image of God, was created as an innate storyteller. The world was created through story, and story is how it progresses and is sustained. As such, story is the foundation of all culture and the most natural and effective method of human communication. Research points to all of man’s stories being derivatives of the Great Story: the metanarrative of Scripture. Exploring man’s relationship with story reveals his place within the metanarrative and ultimately provides evidence for the existence and active presence …

Election And Israel: Following Paul’S Thought Through Romans 9-11, Colton Lee

Senior Honors Theses

Paul’s dealings with Israel in Romans 9-11 have long been viewed as some of the most theologically controversial teachings in the New Testament. Throughout these three critical chapters located in the middle of his greatest theological treatise, Paul teaches both on the doctrine of individual election and on the future of ethnic Israel. In this paper, the text will be approached using the discipline of biblical theology with the hope of interpreting the text using a literal hermeneutic with the whole of Scripture in mind. The doctrine of unconditional individual election will be affirmed by this research, and both a …

Inconceivable: An Analysis Of Assisted Reproductive Technology For The Church, Mary Elizabeth Gresham

Senior Honors Theses

Infertility pushes the boundaries of emotional and physical health, which is why many couples inside and outside the church turn to Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) for a solution. Despite what has seemed like silence from the Church, some individuals have braved the biological confusion and ethical dilemmas to evaluate the technology. Three major ethical viewpoints have emerged that each prioritize something over medical technology, namely community, order, or human dignity. This paper serves to educate pastors and church leaders on the ever-changing biology of ART as well as give voice to Christians that have spoken out on this issue. At …

Old Testament Election: God’S Exclusive Means Of Bringing About Global Redemption, Parker Williams

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis will seek to explore the doctrine of election as it appears in the Old Testament. It will attempt to provide a robust, biblical conception of the doctrine, shedding light on its nature and purpose, viewing the Bible as a singular story of God’s redemptive work. It will consider and assess election as God’s act of divine prerogative—being at times individual but primarily corporate. While inherently partial, effort will be taken to defend the doctrine against common objections this partiality draws. Rather, it will be shown that as the means by which He initiated His gracious plan of salvation, …

The New Perspective On Paul And The Correlation With The Book Of James, Zach M. Scott

Senior Honors Theses

The New Perspective on Paul is a new theory of how to interpret the Pauline epistles through the lens of first century Judaism. Three of the leading scholars that hold to the New Perspective are E.P. Sanders, James D.G. Dunn, and N.T. Wright. These men have done their best to defend the New Perspective of Paul, but have not adequately used, or explained the arguments set forth in the book of James, specifically found in James 2:14-26. The New Perspective fails to either give an analysis of James through the proposed lens of the New Perspective, or show how the …

Common Sense Theology: An Analysis Of T. L. Carter's Interpretation Of Romans 13:1-7, Joshua Alley

Senior Honors Theses

Common sense theology has been a part of American theology since the time of the Revolution when Evangelicals incorporated ideals from the Scottish didactic Enlightenment into their thought. This paper deals with the work of one particular author, T. L. Carter, and his interpretation and exegetical work on Romans 13:1-7. It deals with the two major presuppositions of his common sense theology, namely that interpretations of any passage of Scripture will adhere to common sense and will result in a value-based ethic. Following this is an analysis of both the strengths and weaknesses of Carter's methodology.

Theological Creative Nonfiction: Christian Literature For Christian Life, Elizabeth R. Hurt

Senior Honors Theses

Since the Christian worldview is composed of more than theoretical truth, Christian literature should reflect these other aspects, such as how that truth is applied in the lives of the saints. Furthermore, the praxis element of worldview is reflected in literature more naturally in narrative genres than in more expository writings like systematic theology. Narrative genres mirror the complex, temporal way a person lives his life, and because of this are able to show how objective truth is applied in subjective situations. For this reason, Christians need contemporary writing that reflects the process of everyday Christian living to offer a …

The Four Spiritual Laws: An Analysis Of Campus Crusade's Method Of Evangelism, Joshua John Kellogg

Senior Honors Theses

The Four Spiritual Laws is a method of evangelism that has sold over one hundred million copies and has been translated into many different languages. This shows that the Four Spiritual Laws has been effective in its presentation of the Gospel. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the Four Spiritual Laws. This thesis will identify whether the message of the Four Spiritual Laws is biblically accurate. This will be done through an exegetical analysis of the Bible verses that the Four Spiritual Laws cite. Suggestions will be given to improve any weaknesses of the Four Spiritual Laws that …

Luke 18:9-14: An Expositional And Literary Discussion On The Parable On The Pharisee And Tax Collector, Nathan A. Schwenk

Senior Honors Theses

In the third Gospel of the New Testament, Luke consistently writes about the Pharisees and their piety pronouncing woes and judgments upon them. Representing the religious leaders of that day, they exalted themselves above everyone else and most of all, tax collectors, who are the epitome of sinners. However, the principle of the great reversal is a prominent theme in Luke’s Gospel, in which the exalted are humbled and the humble are exalted. Multiple times Jesus uses this principle to completely transform peoples’ mindset on who is greatest in the world.

This thesis will offer an extensive exposition on the …

The Sacrifice Of The Life-Giving Death: The Atonement And Its Theological Presuppositions In Eastern Orthodox Soteriology, Daniel L. Marchant

Senior Honors Theses

Whereas much Western theology tends to portray the sacrifice of Christ as an act of penal substitution, the patristic tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church emphasizes an understanding of Christ's atoning work that is participatory rather than substitutionary, ontological rather than juridical, and cosmic rather than individual. These differences in emphasis arise from different understandings of such foundational doctrines as man's original created nature, the fall, and the Old Testament sacrificial system.

Since man was created in a dynamic condition in the image of God, called to attain to the likeness through deification in the energies of God, and as …

The Lord's Anointed: Covenantal Kingship In Psalm 2 And Acts 4, Alexander C. Stewart

Senior Honors Theses

This study examines the title “Christ” as applied to Jesus in Acts 4:25-27. “Christ” or “Anointed One” here is directly connected to Psalm 2:1-2, and ultimately derives from the royal anointing ceremony of Israel. That ceremony symbolizes a commitment by God to the monarch which is made most specific in the Davidic covenant. The Gospel of Luke uses the title “Christ” to connect these Davidic themes to Jesus. In Acts 4:25-27, “Christ” continues to signify Israel’s king backed by the Davidic covenant. The apostles’ reading of Psalm 2 provides a foundation for understanding their own recent persecution and for their …