Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Power Man’S Theology: Marvel’S Luke Cage And Black Liberation Theology, Diarron B. Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Netflix released Marvel’s Luke Cage in 2016 to critical acclaim. Born from a 1970s comic book, the series features Luke Cage, an African-American superhero. Cage is a big, bald, bulletproof black man. Instead of tights and a cape, Cage wears a hoodie calling the audience to remember Trayvon Martin and other victims of white racism. Theologian James Cone created Black Liberation Theology in the 1970s. As a result of Cone’s work, Black Liberation Theology addresses the issue of white racism from a theological standpoint. In this thesis I present a close reading of Marvel’s Luke Cage using Black Liberation Theology …

Program Evaluation Of Integration Training, Megan Anna Neff

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

This paper provides a brief historical overview of the integration of psychology and Christianity while highlighting some of the growing tensions within the movement. Integration of psychology and Christianity has been heavily influenced by training that occurs at APAaccredited programs which explicitly integrate psychology and Christianity as part of their training, making integrative training a salient component to evaluate when considering the future development of the integration movement. An overview of the current research on the effectiveness of learning integration among undergraduate and graduate populations is offered followed by exploratory questions addressing how these inputs may relate to students’ experiences …

Supernatural Pilgrims: A Journey To A New Apostolic Reformation Congregation In The Ozarks, Samuel Wayne Gingerich

MSU Graduate Theses

Birthed out of the revival events of the 1990s, the New Apostolic Reformation is known for its charismatic leaders and provocative theology. As an emerging third wave Pentecostal movement, the New Apostolic Reformation is redefining the edifices of American Pentecostalism. While academics and journalists are currently focused on exposing the influence of some of its leaders such as C. Peter Wagner, Bill Johnson, Randy Clark, and Heidi Baker, there is little scholarship regarding the congregations and communities of believers who find themselves a part of this dynamic movement. This thesis takes a step towards understanding the larger story of the …

The Practice Of Children’S Ministry: Developing A Cohesive Vision Of Practice With Church Leaders, Shannon Clarkson Rains

Doctor of Ministry Theses

The purpose of this project was to create a congregational workshop for church leaders that leads to the development of a cohesive vision for the practice of children’s ministry. In order to do this, I began by presenting the evolution of children’s ministry in the Churches of Christ along with the current tensions that exist between ministers and church leadership created by a lack of cohesive vision for the practice of children’s ministry. This foundational understanding of the origins of this tension supports my discussion of a vision for children’s ministry that includes attention to the spiritual formation of children—an …

Engaging Sacred Space And Experiencing God In The Mountains: A Study Of The Non-Traditional Worship Environment Of Mountain Cathedrals, An Ecumenical Meetup Group Based In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Brendan Isaiah Nixon

Geography ETDs

This paper focuses on the non-traditional Christian worship site of Mountain Cathedrals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I argue that affectual and emotional responses are elicited from the congregants of Mountain Cathedrals through the process of sacralization. It is shown that Christian worship in a non-traditional outdoor setting affects the ways in which the congregants engage with, participate in, and create sacred space. I survey current literatures of sacred space, the contemporary Christian church, and non-traditional worships spaces. Using the literature as a backdrop, I utilize Mountain Cathedrals as a case study for understanding the ways in which sacred space is …

Neighborliness: A Call To Racial And Socioeconomic Equity In Charlotte, North Carolina, David Daniel Docusen

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

In Mark 12:28-34, Jesus is challenged by an expert in religious law to identify the most important commandment. He replies that loving God and neighbors is the most important of the over six hundred commandments. This research project investigates how healing can come to communities that have been racially and socioeconomically divided when a spirit of biblical neighborliness is present. The ubiquity of this call to neighborliness throughout Scripture highlights the importance of this topic, but special emphasis is given to Mark 12:28-34 and Isaiah 58:1-14 in order to focus the effort and scope of this dissertation.

Chapter One surveys …

A Theology And Practice Of Foster Care Ministry: An Investigation Into The Effectiveness Of A Church-Based Wraparound Program For Foster Parents, Robert Wesley Griffith

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new foster parent wraparound program at Journey Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The need for this program was found to be in alignment with the mission of God as seen in Isaiah 1:17, Acts 6, Romans 8, and James 1:27. The New Testament Church has a history of leading the way with innovative solutions to rescue orphans, and today, the church once again has the opportunity to lead the way in foster care solutions.

When Kenosha County leaders in the judicial, legal, and social services sector were recently asked …

Assessing The Personal Needs And Professional Issues That Hinder Credentialed Women In The Ohio Ministry Network: Egalitarianism And The Image Of God, Deedra Ann Shilliday

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The purpose of this study was to discover if some local Assemblies of God (A/G) church practices differed from the denominational egalitarian theology. Credentialed women from the Ohio Ministry Network (OMN), a district of the General Council of the Assemblies of God, were surveyed. According to the survey results, time management, representation at OMN events, ministry connections, and exclusion from the leadership pipeline are the greatest challenges for credentialed women. The goal of promoting awareness of the personal needs and professional issues of credentialed women was actualized by integrating the literature review of imago Dei theology with an Ohio School …

Evangelicalism And Peace And Conflict Studies: A Wheaton College Case Study, Sophia Bouwsma

Capstone Collection

Evangelicalism and peace and conflict studies are both salient topics in addressing current religious and political dynamics in the United States. Amid the realities and myths surrounding these topics, there are many complementarities and tensions between evangelicalism and peace and conflict studies, both real and perceived. One of evangelicalism’s most prominent academic institutions, Wheaton College, recently established a Peace and Conflict Studies Program, placing this program at the center of an unexpected relationship between peace and conflict studies and evangelicalism. This study examines the views of students in Wheaton’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program to explore how they see the …

"La Llorona": Evolución, Ideología Y Uso En El Mundo Hispano, Raquel Sáenz-Llano

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis studies the evolution, ideology and use of the myth of La Llorona through time in the Hispanic World. Considering this myth as one of the most known traditional narratives of the American continent, I begin by providing visual, ethnohistorical and ethnographical insights of weeping in Mesoamerica and South America and the specific mention of a weeping woman in some Spanish chronicles to say how western values were stablished in “the new continent” through this legend. I suggest that during the postcolonialism the legend did not tell anymore about a mother that cries and search a place for their …

The Relationship Between Self-Compassion, Religion, Gender, And Objectified Body Consciousness In Christian Nazarene Women, Arielle R. A. Marston

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Body shame and objectification of the female body are well known contributing factors in physical and mental health issues including high stress, eating disorder symptomatology, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Religion plays a role in body shame and female objectification through both scripture and theological writings although this relationship remains inconclusive. Self-Compassion has been found to be a mitigating factor with regard to body shame in college and caregiver contexts. The Church of the Nazarene promotes itself as supporting female leadership and roles within the church. Since religion and gender roles seem to play a role in body shame and …

The Obstacles To Receiving Grace In A Substance Abuse Population, Bradley Johnson

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Grace has been important throughout the history of Christianity, and it is also relevant in the contemporary positive psychology movement. Nonetheless, the construct of grace has been left relatively unexplored through theoretical or empirical investigation in the social sciences. The few psychological explorations of grace found in the current literature can be roughly divided into four categories: advocating for grace, theoretical development, measuring grace, and empirical studies of grace. The current study examined the obstacles to grace experienced by patients in a substance abuse recovery program. Seven obstacles were first identified by a group of 25 participants through the use …

Social Media Polarization And The Ministry Of Reconciliation, Douglas Bursch

Doctor of Ministry

Online communication is becoming increasingly divisive. This dissertation argues that the best way for individuals to decrease social media polarization is for people to engage in the ministry of reconciliation in their social media interactions. Section One describes how social media polarizes because the medium promotes networked individualism, exaggerates dehumanizing “discarnate” communication and numbs humanity’s ability to form meaningful relationships. The left-brain focused argumentation, writing-centered communication and depersonalized nature of online interactions increase a lack of empathy in social media users and add to the polarizing chaos evident in many social media conflicts. Section Two examines how individuals have unsuccessfully …

God Likes Sex: Conversations Integrating Spirituality And Sexuality, Jennie Armstrong

Doctor of Ministry

Throughout Christian history, the Church has provided inconsistent messages about the spiritual foundation for healthy sexuality. With avoidant messages of silence and shame around sexual topics from the Church, many emergent women separate their spirituality from their sexual lives, never considering scripture as a guideline for healthy sexuality. Emergent adult women, specifically those without strong spiritual foundations, are more likely to engage in unhealthy sexual behaviors which often leave them feeling alone and separate from God and spiritual community. Because popular culture does not support marriage as a moral requirement for a sexual relationship, present cultural messages advocate that these …

The Church’S Call To Minister To Refugees: A Case Study On Liberian Refugees In Minnesota, Rufus Kudee

Master of Theology Theses

The paper is divided into seven chapters. Chapter one explores a brief historical background of the Liberian Refugee Crisis. Chapter two discusses ministering to the refugees: a Biblical foundation. Chapter three quickly reviews different ways of ministering to Liberian refugee families. Chapter four identifies challenges that refugees face. Chapter five explores the potential blessings that refugees bring. Chapter six highlights the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among refugees. Finally, chapter seven addresses the conclusion.

Risen With Healing In Her Wings: An Ecclesiological Ethnography Of Three Young Congregations In St. Paul, Minnesota, Catrina Louise Ciccone

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This dissertation assumes that death and resurrection is the rhythm of life for all disciples of Jesus Christ, and that this baptismal pattern of dying in Christ and being raised to new life in Christ plays itself out in many penultimate iterations across our lives until our ultimate Death and Resurrection. As such, living in a cultural climate in which the white North American Christendom Church is captive to an ecclesiology of death, fixated upon and anxious about its imminent demise, this dissertation seeks to provide a counter-narrative: an ecclesiology of the resurrection occurring in this new missional era, a …

"Femme Fatales Of Faith": Queer And "Deviant" Performances Of Femme Within Western Protestant Culture, Kelsey Waninger Minnick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Women and queer folk are changing the religious landscape of Christianity in America, and the scope of visibility for these figures and their apostolic endeavors is widening as more and more Christians are seeking out communities rooted in doctrines of love and connection rather than exclusion and hegemonic piety. Thinking on this phenomenon, this dissertation focuses on the intersectional dilemmas of faith practice and rhetorical discourse with Western Christianity, particularly as it revolves around those female pastors and clergy - considered "dangerous" by many within the church - who are advocating for a more inclusionary church space. By conducting a …

The Third Space: The Meeting Of Jew And Christian In The Act Of Remembering, Restoring, And Reconciling - A Case Study Of The Matzevah Foundation, Steven D. Reece

Dissertations

Problem

Due to long-standing religious, racial, and cultural tensions, a complex and challenging relationship exists between Jews and Christians. The resulting breach isolates and separates these two faith groups from each other. Consequently, they struggle to interact and engage in meaningful dialogue, which could repair the breach and lead to forgiveness and reconciliation. Dialogue bridges the gap between Jew and Christian allowing them to meet in the third space—the liminal space of the Jewish cemetery in Poland. Jews and Christians may deal with the evil of the past through what researchers term as "loving acts."

Method

This study was conducted …