Church History Commons^™

Printing And Protestants: An Empirical Test Of The Role Of Printing In The Reformation, Jared Rubin

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

The causes of the Protestant Reformation have long been debated. This paper seeks to revive and econometrically test the theory that the spread of the Reformation is linked to the spread of the printing press. I test this theory by analyzing data on the spread of the press and the Reformation at the city level. An econometric analysis that instruments for omitted variable bias with a city's distance from Mainz, the birthplace of printing, suggests that cities with at least one printing press by 1500 were at minimum 29 percentage points more likely to be Protestant by 1600.

The Satanic Phenomenon: Medieval Representations Of Satan, Morgan A. Matos

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

This project deals with the one and only character of Satan, revealing him through the eyes of the medieval world. The ever-evolving, interconnectedness of culture, religion, and superstition make for a truly unique theatrical experience in the middle ages. With limited understanding and access to scripture, medieval Christians generated a blended belief system, in order to make sense of the metaphysical world, which manifests itself in medieval drama‟s representations of Satan. While the medieval character of Satan upholds many of the Church‟s teachings about his nature and purpose, he takes on a new persona when left to the dramatic interpretation …

Getting Into The Meat Of The Word Of Wisdom, A. Jane Birch

Faculty Publications

Doctrine & Covenants Section 89 is known as the "health code" for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In verse 13 of this scripture, the Lord states, “it is pleasing unto me that they [flesh of beasts and fowls of the air] should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine” (D&C 89:13). Judging from the variety of interpretations this single verse has inspired, it would appear to be deeply enigmatic. Interestingly, most interpretations have been put forward with little supporting evidence. This article is the first comprehensive analysis of the …

Illness And God's Will, John Sherret

Senior Honors Theses

Originally, God never put sickness on people. After the fall, the early history of man as recorded in the Bible further demonstrates Him refraining to use sickness. However, once the law was instituted God began to use sickness as a punishment. In the Old Testament, sickness was always defined as a curse and never a blessing. It was used by God to curse people for disobeying the law. In the New Testament, God was seen healing the multitudes instead of cursing them. Through the atonement of Jesus, believers have been redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). Healing …

Martin Luther On Marriage And Family, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Love Your Enemy Evangelical Opposition To Mormonism And Its Effect Upon Mormon Identity, Derek J. Bowen

Theses and Dissertations

Evangelical Protestant Christians have been one of the primary groups opposing Mormons since the beginnings of Mormonism in the 1820s. This thesis is an examination of the historical basis for Evangelical opposition to Mormonism and the impact of that opposition on Mormon identity. This study is divided into three chronological chapters representing the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries in America. Evangelical animosity towards Mormonism was grounded in the Christian heretical tradition begun in the second century AD. Because of this tradition, Evangelicals were inherently afraid of heresy for two main reasons: temporal treason and eternal damnation. Due to the heterodox …

The Battle To Authenticate 'The Gospel Of Thomas', Lisa Haygood

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

Many early Christian sects were aware of and accepted The Gospel of Thomas as authentic Christian scripture, despite its unorthodox, radical doctrine, igniting an ideological battle in and around the Thomasine communities of the ancient world. This ideological war is still raging and conflict renewed and amplified with the discoveries of the Greek and Coptic texts of The Gospel of Thomas in the first half of the 20^th Century.

Since it’s discovery, The Gospel of Thomas has presented scholars with ferocious debate, as serious probability exists that Thomas preserves an older tradition of the historical Jesus than that of …

A Comparative Study Of Muhammad And Joseph Smith In The Prophetic Pattern, Todd J. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

As early as 1831, critics attacked Joseph Smith by comparing him to Muhammad. Over time, the comparison deepened as critics and scholars observed doctrinal and political similarities between Mormonism and Islam. Later, scholars compared Joseph Smith to Muhammad because both had generated a new religion and there seemed to be several similarities in the lives of Joseph Smith and Muhammad. These and other comparisons between the two men and their religions have been made from 1831 to the present, yet there have been few thorough, non-polemic examinations of Joseph Smith and Muhammad in the typology of prophethood. While notable similarities …

Irenaeus Of Lyons: A Defense Of Recapitulation, Mathew Thomas Hollen

Seminary Masters Theses

Abstract This work sets out to explain the atonement theory of Irenaeus of Lyons. Irenaeus’ atonement theology is often described simply as “Christus Victor” but I argue that is simply a narrow sliver of the wider atonement theory of recapitulation. In this thesis I systematically try to expound what it is Irenaeus believed and why he believed it. In the first chapter I explain the problem at hand and a short biography of the bishop. In the second chapter I seek to summarize the Gnostic school of Valentinianism, which is the key opponent against Irenaeus writes in his best-known work …

Who Controls The Water? Yahweh Vs. Baal, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

As the Israelites settled in the land of Canaan, clashes over religious beliefs and practices developed with other inhabitants of the land. Baalism, the belief in the Canaanite god of water and storm, became a threat to the true belief in Yahweh (Jehovah). This paper is an investigation of the implicit polemical usage of water and storm language in the Deuteronomic History (hereafter referred to as DH). The DH consists of the book of Deuteronomy as well as what is referred to in the Hebrew Bible as the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings). Many passages in the Deuteronomic …