History of Christianity Commons^™

How To Speak Stone-Campbell, Mcgarvey Ice, Douglas A. Foster

Library Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Mimicry, Mirroring, Subversion, And Critique: Reading Heterotopia In The Cubicula Of The Sacraments, Eric Christopher Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the spaces commonly called the Cubicula of the Sacraments, five rooms in the Callistus Catacomb in Rome, in light of Michel Foucault's concept of heterotopia. I argue that the Christian communities that created the Cubicula constructed their spaces and construed the symbolic worlds they conjured there as a way of mimicking, mirroring, subverting, and critiquing the "other" spaces and cultures that surrounded them.

This work takes place along four lines of inquiry. The first of these is space and place, and uses Foucault's and Henri Lefebvre's notions of heterotopia to describe the Callistus Catacomb's location in the …

Religious Images Through Protestant Eyes, Julia Laplaca

Beets Paper Contest

No abstract provided.

Seeing The World Through Ramist Eyes: The Richardsonian Ramism Of Thomas Hooker And Samuel Stone, Baird L. Tipson

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Using as examples the writings of Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone, founding ministers of the First Church of Hartford, Connecticut, this article shows how influential thinkers in early seventeenth-century England and New England saw the world around them through the filters of the Ramist philosophy of Alexander Richardson. It argues that Richardsonian Ramism produced theology and preaching that was less “biblical” and more “Calvinist” than has been conventionally thought.

The Word Of God And The Church: On The Theological Implications Of Three Summary Statements In The Acts Of The Apostles, Matthew L. Skinner

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Representations Of The Care Of The Soul In Early Christian Texts, Deborah Ann Niederer Saxon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Michel Foucault argues that modern scholars have inaccurately conceptualized ancient Greco-Roman philosophies as the pursuit of abstract knowledge. He proposes instead conceiving of these philosophies more broadly as sets of practices that focused on “the care of the self/soul.” Such care involved exercises (“technologies of the self”) effecting both identity formation and spiritual transformation. It is possible to re-conceptualize the history of the early Christianities in these terms as well, particularly in examining the discourses circulating in the second and third centuries of the Common Era. Juxtaposition and close reading of texts from this period reveal that competing visions of …

The Date Of Easter And Shakespeare’S ‘Progress Of The Stars’: Creed And Chronometry In The Sixteenth Century, Martin Connell

Theology Faculty Publications

William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" opens with the question "Is this a holiday?" followed by another, "What, know you not?" The queries seem benign and, perhaps, humorless four centuries after the drama about the assassination of the ancient Roman emperor premiered at the Globe Theater in 1599, but – within a century of King Henry VIII's start of the Church of England (1534) – chronometry was a grave matter of church and state. Shakespeare's first Roman play coincided with the worst span of controversy between the Vatican and Canterbury, and Flavius's questions reveal social rubs between churches and calendars in late …

The Community That Raymond Brown Left Behind: Reflections On The Johannine Dialectical Situation, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Among the paradigm-making contributions in Johannine studies over the last half century, one of the most significant is the sketching of “the community of the Beloved Disciple” by Raymond E. Brown (Brown 1979). Extending beyond Johannine studies, Brown’s work on the history of early Christianity and “the churches the apostles left behind” (Brown 1984) is also among the most practical and interesting of his 47 books.1 Here, Brown’s analyses of the unity and diversity of early Christians’ approaches to leadership and community organization2 have extensive implications, not only to historical and sociological understandings of the first-century Christian movement, but also …

An Imperial Collection: Exploring The Hammers' Icons, Wendy Salmond

Art Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"Changing hands one last time, in the 1950s, for many years the icons at BJU lived as it were incognito, the details of their glamorous origins largely forgotten. Reuniting this core group-the cream of the Hammers' imperial icons--with others that passed into American museums in the 1930s allows us to appreciate the full significance of Armand and Victor Hammer's foray into marketing icons Americans.Viewed in isolation, most of their "imperial icons" are perhaps no mo than a poignant reminder of the vast destruction and dislocation of Orthodox culture during the Soviet Cultural Revolution. Taken together, however, they paint a vivid …

New Perspectives On The Northampton Communion Controversy I: David Hall's Diary And Letter To Edward Billing, Douglas L. Winiarski

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Jonathan Edwards’ fateful decision to repudiate the church admission practices of his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, provoked a bitter dispute with his parishioners that led to his dismissal in 1750. Scholars have long debated the meaning of this crucial turning point in Edwards’ pastoral career. For early biographers, the Northampton communion controversy served as an index of eighteenth-century religious decline. More recent studies situate Edwards’ dismissal within a series of local quarrels over his salary, the “Bad Book” affair, conflicts with the Williams family, and the paternity case of Elisha Hawley. This essay is the first a series that reexamines the …

The Deep Grammar Of Augustine’S Conversion, Jared J. Ortiz

Faculty Publications

In light of the growing consensus that the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo is foundational for Augustine’s thought, it would be fruitful to consider more fully its role in the Confessions, especially its role in how Augustine understands his conversion in Book Eight. In this short communication, I will argue that Augustine situates his conversion narrative within the context of the Trinity’s creative act. His understanding of the ontological distinction between God and the world as well as the creational notion of imitation are the keys to understanding this in Book Eight. They make up the deep grammar of …

Platonic And Stoic Passions In Philo Of Alexandria, Loren Kerns

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Philo of Alexandria forged his theory of the soul and its passions while expositing the meaning of Torah. Though writing as a Jewish teacher and disciple of Moses, his biblical reflections display a strong orientation toward Middle-Platonic philosophy. On the topic of the soul and its passions, however, Philo also exhibits significant Stoic influence. The introduction notes Philo’s apparent incompatible use of both the complex Platonic and the monistic Stoic psychological models. After assessing the degree to which Philo understood 'passion' to be a type of Stoic impulse or opinion (chapter one), chapter two demonstrates that Philo consistently drew upon …

Cooperation: Churches Working Together Through The Local Baptist Association For Maximum Kingdom Ministry, John Frank

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Cooperation is a concept which many churches hold to as a basic belief, yet few incorporate into their ministry plan. With the exception of giving money toward a denominational budget, many churches operate totally independently of other churches. Believers in Jesus Christ can do more in a community as a unified body rather than as splintered groups with individual, and often self-serving, agendas. This thesis project draws together several years of observations and experiences of churches as they have joined together in unity and cooperation. A survey and interview process is used to gain insight and vision from churches and …

Jacob's Textual Legacy, John Hilton Iii

Faculty Publications

Today, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know what texts are considered authoritative—namely, the standard works. As members, we recognize a formal process for canonization; for example, at the Saturday afternoon session of general conference in April 1976, President N. Eldon Tanner announced that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve had approved two revelations for inclusion in the Pearl of Great Price and called for a sustaining vote. This concept of canonization in the restored church has echoes from earlier Christian practices and councils.

Setting Apart For The Ministry: Theory And Practice In Seventh-Day Adventism (1850-1920), Denis Kaiser

Faculty Publications

The Seventh-day Adventist practice of ordination was specifically based on NT passages, yet the practice and its implications developed over time and were influenced by external necessities and the growth of the church structure and the mission of the church. While early on they did not want to go beyond the pattern outlined in the NT, they later modified this position and began to allow for adaptation of NT patterns in order to accommodate changing circumstances, insisting merely that all new developments be in harmony with the Bible even if they were not an exact reflection of biblical precedents. New …

[Book Review Of] Reformation Und Konfessionelles Zeitalter (1517-1648), By Martin H. Jung, Denis Kaiser

Faculty Publications

This book on the reformation and the confessional era (1517-1648) is succinct, informative, and very readable. It is a textbook that contains fifteen neatly arranged chapters. The advantage of Jung’s textbook lies in the fact that it is not merely another book about the reformation and post-reformation period for its real strength is found not as much in the presentation of the historical facts and developments per se as in the enclosed pertinent syllabus for university studies and exams on both epochs. Instructors and professors may benefit from Jung’s teaching experience, using the materials and adapting them according to their …

The Beginning Of The End: A Look At The Causes Of The Schism In The Methodist Episcopal Church, Rebecca Rowe

Undergraduate Research Awards

Examines the Methodist Episcopal Church schism of 1844, especially the role of differing northern and southern views of slavery. The PDF includes the author's entry submission essay.

Witnessing The Web: The Rhetoric Of American E-Vangelism And Persuasion Online, Amber M. Stamper

Theses and Dissertations--English

From the distribution of religious tracts at Ellis Island and Billy Sunday’s radio messages to televised recordings of the Billy Graham Crusade and Pat Robertson’s 700 Club, American evangelicals have long made a practice of utilizing mass media to spread the Gospel. Most recently, these Christian evangelists have gone online. As a contribution to scholarship in religious rhetoric and media studies, this dissertation offers evangelistic websites as a case study into the ways persuasion is carried out on the Internet. Through an analysis of digital texts—including several evangelical home pages, a chat room, discussion forums, and a virtual church—I investigate …

More Than An "Immoderate Superstition": Christian Identity In The First Three Centuries, Edward Mason

Theses and Dissertations--History

Only recently have scholars given particular attention to the development of the racial discourse present in early Christian apologetics. This study is aimed at understanding the Latin and Greek literary antecedents to the development of a Christian discourse on race and identity and examining in detail the apex of this discourse in the work of third century apologist Origen of Alexandria. Origen’s work represented the apex of an evolving discourse that, while continuing to use traditional vocabulary, became increasingly universalizing with the growth of the Roman Empire. By understanding how Christians in the first three centuries shaped their attitudes on …

The Waldenses: Historical Perspectives From The Writings Of Ellen White, Ellen G. White, Kathleen Demsky

All Books

Featuring chapters and images from The Great Controversy and Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.