Christianity Commons^™

Transnational Migration And Ethnic And Religious Renewal Amongst The Ethnic German Minority In Romania, Ovidiu Oltean

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The normalization of inter-ethnic relations after the fall of communism and the establishment of a rather inclusive minority regime has opened up new possibilities for the ethnic and religious minorities in Romania. Social, cultural and religious life has seen a pluralization and revival that was not possible during communism. Ethnic minorities developed new forms of cultural and ethnic expression and gained new leveraging instruments in relation to the ethnic Romanian majority. As Romanian society has grown more pluralistic, not only has political and cultural life developed and become more diverse but also religious forms of expression and religious organizations have …

Thirty Years Later: The Pentecostal Church In Romania And Religious Freedom In The Post-Communist Era, Dragoș Ștefănică

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The aim of the present paper is to provide a brief presentation of the evolution of religious freedom in Romania since the 1989 Revolution from the perspective of a Pentecostal believer. To better understand what this event meant for this denomination, first the situation of the Pentecostal movement in the interwar and communist times will be presented, and then survey the changes brought by the fall of the communist regime and how religious freedom evolved in the past three decades.

Wells' "Walk Humbly: Encouragements For Living, Working, And Being" (Book Review), Robert Lancaster

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Perrin's "The Kingdom Of God: A Biblical Theology For Life" (Book Review), Craig Rosenbeck

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Mcentyre's "When Poets Pray" (Book Review), Carrie Beth Lowe

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Artman's "The Miracle Lady: Kathryn Kuhlman And The Transformation Of Charismatic Christianity" (Book Review), Andrew C. Stout

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Gustafson's "Gospel Witness: Evangelism In Word And Deed" (Book Review), Kyle D. Diroberts

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Bruns' "Introduction To Christian Worship: Grammar, Theology And Practice" (Book Review), Craig Rosenbeck

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Gonzalez' "Knowing Our Faith: A Guide For Believers, Seekers, And Christian Communities" (Book Review), Kyle D. Diroberts

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Kozar's "Sweet Tea For The Soul: Down-Home Devotions To Comfort The Heart" (Book Review), Elizabeth A. Nolan

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Gorman, Childers, And Hamiltons' "Slavery's Long Shadow: Race And Reconciliation In American Christianity" (Book Review), Noelle C. Keller

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Kyle's "True Heart Girls Devotional: God's Promises For Me!" (Book Review), Elizabeth A. Nolan

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Sancken's "Words That Heal: Preaching Hope To Wounded Souls" (Book Review), Xin "Lucy" Bai

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Thirty Years Later: Being Orthodox In Romania, Then And Now, Claudia Chiorean

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"Romanians know themselves to be traditionally Orthodox, so they declare themselves in censuses as belonging to the majority religion. But in fact, in practice, only about 30 percent are Orthodox practitioners....

If I, as a Romanian, belong to the two-thirds who have only declared themselves Orthodox without living the faith in its true dogmatic dimensions, this means I have replaced God in my life with the Internet, with the psychologist, with my job, with trips, with activities which distract my attention from myself and from my own identity."

Foreword To This Special Issue, Beth Admiraal

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The door that opens up to religious freedom does not always lead to expected places. Our contributors, reflecting on the past thirty years for religion in Romania, note both the joys and tribulations of freedom."

Sim's "Survivor Care: What Religious Professionals Need To Know About Healing Trauma" (Book Review), Jaclyn Lee Parrott

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

A Pentecostal Expression Of Holistic Reflection In The Improvement Of Pastoral Leadership Practices, Gabriella Van Breda

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation is an action research self-study undertaken with the aim of transforming my pastoral leadership practices with the extended application of assisting other leaders to do the same. The research question asks in what ways action research methodology with its inherent reflective methods contributes to pastoral leadership transformation. The primary outcome is a framework of holistic reflection that consistently and systematically works to transform my leadership practices. Through the action research methodology of constant iteration, I evaluated the effects of my leadership, reflected on the disconnect between my core values and my behavior and searched for a means to …

Reflections On Jehovah’S Witnesses In Romania: A Thirty-Year Retrospective, Ionut Moraru

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article provides testimony from and data about Jehovah’s Witnesses in Romania, who have suffered persecution both before and after the fall of Communism. In recent years the government has taken steps to officially recognize and protect Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Book Review: The Victory Of The Cross: Salvation In Eastern Orthodoxy, Paul Crego

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The Victory of the Cross: Salvation in Eastern Orthodoxy is the latest book by James R. Payton, Jr., emeritus professor of history at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. His previous books include Light from the Christian East: An Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition. He also edited A Patristic Treasure: Early Church Wisdom for Today.

Book Review: A Short History Of The Georgian Church [SakʻArtʻVelos Eklesiis Mokle Istoria], Paul Crego

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Metropolitan Archbishop Anania Japaridze (1949-present) is a member of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in Georgia and has served as a bishop in that church since 1991. He has published several books, mainly on the history of the Orthodox Church in Georgia, but also books on how Georgians have been converted to other Christian denominations or religions, and, thereby “converted” to other ethnicities. The thesis of one such book is that Georgian converts to Islam in the northwest part of historical Georgian territories lost their Georgian language and national identity and became Abkhazians. (Apʻxazetʻi: kʻartʻveltʻa "gaapʻxazeba" = Abkhazia: …

Women In The Serbian Orthodox Church: Historical Overview And Contemporary Situation, Aleksandra Djurić Milovanović, Radmila Radić

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Research on the position of women in the Eastern Orthodox churches is still scarce. Some recent studies show differences among the various Orthodox Churches in Eastern Europe regarding women’s issues. The position of the women in the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) was addressed as late as in the 1990s, but this is still an insufficiently examined field. Eastern Orthodox theologians have rarely discussed the problem of the position and role of women in the SOC. During the socialist era, they did not engage this topic, except in studies related to female monasticism. On the other hand, sociological and anthropological studies …

Post-Soviet Transformation For Evangelicals, 1991-2018: Deepening Causes For Discord, Walter Sawatsky

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

During the great transformation between 1989 and 1991, the majority of American journalists were completely surprised by the transformations of 1989 in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the USSR in 1991, since it contradicted their stereotypes so profoundly. Several developments within the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe turned out to be signposts for those with the eyes to see. Literary figures and philosophers circulating their thinking in samizdat form, or through the emergence of dissenting movements, pointed to the disillusionment with the grand socialist promises. Solzhenitsyn had already drawn attention in his Nobel speech to the power of truth …

Crimean Anti-Religious Persecution In 2018 And 2019, Felix Corley

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

In Russian-occupied Crimea in 2018, there were 23 prosecutions brought against individuals for ill-defined "missionary activity," of which 19 ended with punishment, Forum 18 has found. Many of those punished were prosecuted for sharing their faith on the street or for holding worship at unapproved venues. Cases against two more were due to be heard in mid-January 2019. This represents a doubling of such cases in the Crimean peninsula since the first year such punishments for "missionary activity" were imposed. July 2016 to July 2017 saw 13 known cases of which eight ended in punishment.

Book Review: Church In A Divided World: The Encounter Of The Lutheran World Federation With The Cold War, Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Research on the mutual impact of Christian churches and the Cold War is proceeding albeit slowly. One of the most important initiators of such research, the prominent church leader Risto Lehtonen of Finland, has now added his own study based on his personal experience in executive positions with the World Student Christian Federation and then more pertinently as Director of the Department of Church Cooperation of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). With occasional direct references to his own role in the historical development of the churches’ role in the post-World War II rupture of the world into two hostile camps, …

Frontmatter (Volume 39, Issue 6), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Eurasian And Eastern European Evangelicals: Tested Over Two Centuries, Walter Sawatsky

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The oppression of evangelicals has been a persistent legacy, but it has not applied to all of them. Therefore, we must begin by defining evangelicals and oppression. A further query to pursue is: what intensity of oppression has permitted creative survival?

The Church's Lament: Moving The White Church From Grief Of Complicity To Lament, Kristin Hamilton

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation begins with the presupposition that leaders and members of the white, evangelical church are aware that there is an ongoing racial struggle in the United States, and in the church. Beginning with the theory that the church is in denial regarding historical complicity toward racism and white supremacy, this paper uses Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s Grief Stage model to explore how the white church has become stuck in the early stages of grief (denial and anger). This exploration reviews historic and current examples in which white Christians have been complicit with systematic oppression against Black people and non-Black persons of …

Eldercare In China: Lessons From The Trenches - One Organization's Experience Planning, Training, And Consulting To Open A Continuing Care Retirement Community In Beijing, Mark A. Steele

Doctor of Ministry

The need for not for profit organizations to develop new paradigms to care for the elderly is increasingly important, given the challenges of a rapidly aging population across the globe; and particularly in China. Concerns related to this growing age wave are compounded by political and social shifts within society. Over the past few decades, China has experienced immense demographic shifts and changes in terms of long-term care needs for older adults. For example, a recent report by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics published that there was an estimated 185 million people over the age of 60 (Shobert, Senior …

Leadership And Commitment In Pentecostal Churches, Jason T. Whitehead

Doctor of Ministry

A goal of pastors is to grow their ministries with individuals who are committed to God. Church growth is a phenomenon by itself but central to the study of church growth and retention is church leadership. The pastor seeks to shepherd individuals and develop them into faithful Christians in the service of God. Church growth speaks to transforming an audience into a body of believers. A metric of church growth is the number of faithful congregants that attend service regularly. In order to understand the local church an understanding of leadership styles is important due to the multiplicity of leadership …

Book Review: Craig G. Bartholomew, Contours Of The Kuyperian Tradition: A Systematic Introduction, Bob Goudzwaard And Craig G. Bartholomew, Beyond The Modern Age: An Archaeology Of Contemporary Culture. Reviewed By Travis Pickell, Travis Ryan Pickell

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Review of Craig G. Bartholomew, Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition: A Systematic Introduction (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017). xiv + 363 pp. ISBN 978-0-8308- 5158-4

Bob Goudzwaard and Craig G. Bartholomew, Beyond the Modern Age: An Archaeology of Contemporary Culture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017). xii + 313 pp. ISBN 978-0-8308-5151- 5

Abraham Kuyper stands as a giant of politics, theology, and social philosophy in the Dutch Reformed context. Serving as a pastor, journalist, educator and university founder, political activist, theologian, author, and prime minister in his time, his legacy continues through the neo-Calvinist tradition (sometimes called ‘Kuyperianism’), …