Anthropological Apologetics: A Proposal Of An Anthropological Compendium As Evidence For The Imago Dei,
2012
Liberty University
Anthropological Apologetics: A Proposal Of An Anthropological Compendium As Evidence For The Imago Dei, Jeffrey R. Dickson
Masters Theses
Evangelical scholarship has shown great admiration for the work of Gary Habermas and others in their contribution to Christian apologetics by validating the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ with a list of minimal facts generally agreed to by historical and biblical scholars. This thesis will explore the methodology of the minimal facts approach and appropriate it as a tool to explore the data within the field of anthropology which offers evidence for the biblical concept of the Imago Dei. This study will focus on Wolfhart Pannenberg in his critically acclaimed work demonstrating the importance of the theological perspective …
Making Disciples Through Evangelism: A Plan For The Evangelist Who Only Has One Chance At A New Convert,
2012
Liberty University
Making Disciples Through Evangelism: A Plan For The Evangelist Who Only Has One Chance At A New Convert, Richard Hertless
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Making disciples is an integral part of being a Christian. God has called some to be Evangelists (Ephesians 4:11). The rationale of the project is the need to fulfill the Great Commission's command of "making disciples." The value of this project is the plan that is developed to ensure that new converts will be placed with a disciple to confirm his or her Christian growth. This project will take the reader through a step-by-step plan to prepare, conduct and follow-up on an evangelism event to ensure that the Great Commission is fulfilled for the new convert to successfully walk in …
Effective Transitional Ministry Plan: Pastoral Leadership In The 21st Century Church,
2012
Liberty University
Effective Transitional Ministry Plan: Pastoral Leadership In The 21st Century Church, Keith Gardner
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The short term nature of the role of transitional pastor allows them to address spiritual deficiencies, provide spiritual corrections and prepare a congregation for change within a shorter time frame than normally required. Having served as a transitional pastor this writer believes the real calling of transitional ministry is to strengthen the church and place it on an effective path for the cause of Christ. Writing on this topic will provide an outline for what a successful transitional ministry plan should look like. This project will include pastoral surveys and interviews that identify spiritual deficiencies and provide biblical solutions for …
A Model For Revitalizing And Restructuring Peter's Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church,
2012
Liberty University
A Model For Revitalizing And Restructuring Peter's Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, Jerry Grimes
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this project is to develop a model of ministry that will revitalize Peter's Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, which over the past 102 years, has been characterized by stagnate membership, diminishing evangelistic efforts and a declining spiritual impact. This project will detail a model that allows for a restructuring of Peter's Tabernacle that neither denigrates its traditional approach to congregational life nor disrupts its standard hierarchy. Presented will be an implementable approach to developing small groups of congregants trained to evangelize those communities surrounding Peter's Tabernacle while maintaining the administrative structure of its congregational leadership.
"Everything's Going To Be Ok:" Source Code And The Dramas Of Desire,
2012
Central Michigan University
"Everything's Going To Be Ok:" Source Code And The Dramas Of Desire, David L. Smith
Journal of Religion & Film
Source Code (Duncan Jones, 2011) is a science fiction film concerned with an ambiguity at the heart of religion and its ideas about the meaning of life. It interrogates the kitsch-phrase "everything's going to be OK" to uncover two distinct ideas of heroism, or of how life acquires meaning. One is keyed to narratives of attainment. The other stresses the immediacy or immanence of meaning in our present conditions. The film enacts the tension between these paradigms in ways that parallel cases from Christianity and Buddhism. It explores what remains of religious hope when its literal sense is exposed as …
“Heaven And Earth” Samoan Indigenous Religion, Christianity, And The Relationship Between The Samoan People And The Environment,
2012
SIT Study Abroad
“Heaven And Earth” Samoan Indigenous Religion, Christianity, And The Relationship Between The Samoan People And The Environment, Grace Wildermuth
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
This paper examines Samoan indigenous religion and the relationship between Samoans and the environment before and after the introduction of Christianity. It looks at how Christian beliefs and the cultural perspectives of European missionaries affected Samoa’s environment. It then considers Samoan indigenous religious values that may be helpful to combat current environmental problems. Primary and secondary sources were used, including interviews with both theologians and environmentalists. Samoan indigenous religion promoted a sustainable relationship with the land but Christianity and the cultural lens through which it was delivered had negative environmental effects. Samoa retains a deep environmental knowledge in the memories …
Pastoral Care: A New Model For Assessing The Spiritual Needs Of Hospitalized Patients,
2012
Liberty University
Pastoral Care: A New Model For Assessing The Spiritual Needs Of Hospitalized Patients, Douglas Robinson
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Hospitalized patients are at an elevated risk of suffering from spiritual distress. Patients value and expect having spiritual and emotional needs met when hospitalized. A direct correlation exists between spiritual and physical health, making spiritual assessment and care a pastoral priority. Research indicates a lack of proper training for pastors making hospital visits. The purpose of this project is to provide pastors with resources and understanding of spiritual assessment of hospitalized patients. This project also provides pastors with a template for a new model of spiritual assessment to aid with establishing a spiritual assessment tool to meet their ministry needs, …
An Apologetic To Sun Hwan Pyun's Dialogue Theology As A Liberation Theology Of Religions,
2012
Liberty University
An Apologetic To Sun Hwan Pyun's Dialogue Theology As A Liberation Theology Of Religions, Youngchan Kim
Masters Theses
Sun Hwan Pyun was a professor at Methodist Theological University. As a theologian, he grappled with two important theological questions: "Is Christianity an exclusive religion?" and "Is Christianity only a religion for the upper class?" Regarding the exclusivism of Christianity, Pyun searched for an answer in ecumenical-religious pluralism. As an answer for "is Christianity for the poor", he accepts Minjung liberation theology. Pyun wanted to combine these two theologies and, subsequently, referred to his dialogue theology as a liberation theology of religions. The purpose of this thesis is to search for the theological and biblical answers to these theological questions …
Creating A Millennial Generation Contextualized Church Culture,
2012
Liberty University
Creating A Millennial Generation Contextualized Church Culture, Christopher Deitsch
Masters Theses
The Millennial generation, or Generation Y as some people know them, is the biggest generation in the United States of America history. As they flood schools, universities, and the job market it is easy to see that there are major differences between them and previous generations. Simultaneously, the church in America has hundreds of individual churches each year closing and tens of thousands each year declining; most churches are ceasing to grow. The inability to reach Millennials is one of the reasons for this decline. This thesis purposes to give a snapshot of the Millennial generation, overview a few of …
Epic Families: Equipping Parents To Reclaim Their Biblical Mandate While Inspiring Children To Know And Love The God Who Made Them,
2012
Liberty University
Epic Families: Equipping Parents To Reclaim Their Biblical Mandate While Inspiring Children To Know And Love The God Who Made Them, Marybeth Meltzer
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
A review of current literature demonstrates that there is a fundamental problem in the church today: the church has taken on the primary role of discipling children, while many parents have abrogated their biblical mandate as outlined in Deuteronomy 6:6-9. Surveys of parents as well as practical ministry experience confirm that great confusion exists among parents as to the scope of their biblical responsibilities. This project reviews historical perspectives and the present situation in the church and offers guidance to both parents and ministry professionals to help parents reclaim their God-given responsibilities.
A Model To Recruit And Implement Volunteers To Serve And Create A Culture Of Biblical Servanthood In The Church,
2012
Liberty University
A Model To Recruit And Implement Volunteers To Serve And Create A Culture Of Biblical Servanthood In The Church, Rodney Briles
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this project is to develop a viable and applicable model for finding and recruiting volunteers to serve the local church and create a culture of Biblical servanthood. The project focuses on: where to find potential volunteers; discerning the volunteer's giftedness; the enlisting process; interviews; and training the volunteer to serve. It also provides practical methods that allow the local church to create a culture of Biblical servanthood. The content of the project is built on the foundation of God's Word coupled with resources from experts in the field.
A Strategy To Transition A Traditional Church Educational System To A Small Group System: A Case Study Of Eternal Life Baptist Church,
2012
Liberty University
A Strategy To Transition A Traditional Church Educational System To A Small Group System: A Case Study Of Eternal Life Baptist Church, Kyoung Gil Cho
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this thesis is to research the avenues in which to have Eternal Life Bible Baptist Church transition to a small group system. This thesis was done through field analysis and literature research, as well as the case study of Eternal Life Bible Baptist Church (ELBBC). The case study was totally focused on the process of changing to a small group system at Eternal Life. The author was a minister at Eternal Life for 8 years, and an associate pastor for a year. In a few years the author will become the next senior pastor of Eternal life …
Bottom-Up Methodologies In Emerging Models,
2012
University of Denver
Bottom-Up Methodologies In Emerging Models, Thomas S. Cahoon
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The post-modern turn in the millennial generation has prompted a response toward religious and organizational authorities, whose organizations do not keep with the changing demand of post-modern individuals. The shift in preferences is marked by a movement from top-down hierarchical models, toward a de-centralized, bottom-up style demonstrated in recent movements. This paper examines the shift of doctrine and praxis within the American evangelical church and a simultaneous development of new methodologies in social justice organizations in these response movements.
Hypostatic Union And The Subtle Body: An Analysis Of Christian Yogic Practice,
2012
College of the Holy Cross
Hypostatic Union And The Subtle Body: An Analysis Of Christian Yogic Practice, Mathew N. Schmalz
Religious Studies Faculty Scholarship
An analysis of the appropriation of yoga by Catholic ashrams in India. Specifically, the article examines the use of the Twin Heart Meditation and how it is imbued with Christian meaning. The article was published in Asian Horizons, a peer reviewed journal published by Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram in Bangalore, India
Irruptions Of The Sacred In A “World Of Shit”: Profanity, Sacred Words, And Cinematic Hierophanies In Stanley Kubrick’S Full Metal Jacket (1987),
2012
San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, California
Irruptions Of The Sacred In A “World Of Shit”: Profanity, Sacred Words, And Cinematic Hierophanies In Stanley Kubrick’S Full Metal Jacket (1987), Joseph E. Bisson
Journal of Religion & Film
Full Metal Jacket remains embedded in the consciousness of the popular culture mainly because of its abundance of profane language, violent imagery, and salacious set pieces. The juxtaposition of profane language and imagery with sacred language and religious symbolism reveals that Kubrick’s Vietnam film has powerful religious overtones that comprise an important element of the film’s critique of homo religiosus and the modern human condition. By continually juxtaposing the sacred and profane, Kubrick created “cinematic hierophanies” that advanced a cultural critique that inventively integrated ideas from some of the mid-20th Century’s greatest interpreters of myths -- Carl Jung, Joseph …
There’S No Place Like Home: From Oz To Antichrist,
2012
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas
There’S No Place Like Home: From Oz To Antichrist, J. Sage Elwell
Journal of Religion & Film
This article explores the dialectic of the uncanny in The Wizard of Oz (Victor Flemming, 1939) and Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009), treating the latter as a sequel to the former such that we encounter Dorothy first as a young girl and then as a grown woman. I observe that the uncanny entails a repressive and expressive moment that is cinematically rendered in these two films, and drawing on Freud and Žižek, I argue that in Dorothy’s evolution from Oz to Antichrist we see that the witches and wizards and gods and devils of our own minds are known to …
Scapegoats And Redemption On Shutter Island,
2012
University of Denver
Scapegoats And Redemption On Shutter Island, Cari Myers
Journal of Religion & Film
The themes of redemptive violence, scapegoating, and ritual in the films of Martin Scorsese have provided much grist for critical scholarship. While it is going too far to claim that Scorsese is intentionally interpreting Girardian themes (which are themselves borrowed from a rich mythological tradition), the comparisons between the theorist and the director are compelling. My goal here is to establish the primary themes of scapegoating, mimesis, the cycle of violence, and feuding identities that occur in both Girard’s works and Scorsese’s films and pull them forward into a more recent work of Scorsese, Shutter Island.
Menstruation As Heroine’S Journey In Pan’S Labyrinth,
2012
Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
Menstruation As Heroine’S Journey In Pan’S Labyrinth, Richard Lindsay
Journal of Religion & Film
I propose that the Guillermo del Toro film, Pan's Labyrinth (2006) follows the narrative outline of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey as experienced through the biological process of onset of menstruation in its young protagonist. I suggest a reading of the film that takes into account the visual and mythological symbolism of the figure of Pan, as well as the cultural context of menstruation in mythology and religion. I offer interviews from the director that support this interpretation, but ultimately I value a folk interpretation, or a "viewer's hunch" that the strange and fertile symbolism of the film represents a coming-of-age …
The Meaning And Continuing Relevance Of Leviticus 18:22 And 20:13,
2012
Liberty University
The Meaning And Continuing Relevance Of Leviticus 18:22 And 20:13, Willie E. Honeycutt
SOR Faculty Publications and Presentations
No abstract provided.
Exploring The Connections Between Science And Spirituality: Conversations About The Afterlife,
2012
Lesley University
Exploring The Connections Between Science And Spirituality: Conversations About The Afterlife, Ellen Jackson
Staff Scholarship
This research explores the possibilities, through literature and the experience of others, that the physical body is the container for “something” often referred to as the soul or ethereal substance which lives beyond the body after death. My work examines the intersection of science and spirituality related to conversations and writings about the afterlife. This investigation was conducted relying on the findings and the beliefs/opinions of ancient and modern philosophers, scientists and spiritual leaders’ concepts of death and the possibility that other worlds (or dimensions) exist. Despite many centuries of exploration, there is no conclusive scientific evidence of an afterlife; …
