Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

From Divine Absence To Eternal Presence: Reframing The Jeremianic Temple-City Abandonment Motif From Its Ancient Near Eastern Roots To Its Fulfillment In Christ As The Ultimate Yahwistic Temple, Patrick Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation offers a canonical-theological and comparative study of temple destruction, divine absence, and the logic of return by tracing a five-stage “temple-city abandonment” motif across two corpora: the Sumerian City Laments (and related balag̃ material) and the biblical canon. The Sumerian laments depict the catastrophic loss of temple and city within a deterministic world where divine decisions often appear opaque, emotionally volatile, and only tenuously repairable through ritual lament and reconstruction. By contrast, the biblical narrative interprets the same crisis within a covenantal grammar: Jerusalem’s fall is grounded in articulated covenant breach, responsibility is named and confessed through prophetic …

Sacred Space, Divine Presence, And Covenant: A Theological Trajectory From Eden To The Indwelling Spirit Across The Pentateuch And The Book Of Joshua, William C. Merry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation thesis is that sacred space, divine presence, and covenant are a theological triad that gives form to the canonical progression from Eden through the Pentateuch into Joshua and finds its eschatological orientation in the indwelling Spirit. The project as a whole, and its treatment of Genesis–Deuteronomy and Joshua in particular, maintains that the presence of God is never conceived independently of a covenantal relationship and is thereby always concretized, i.e., spatialized in and through the site or locale of the sacred space: Eden, the tabernacle, the land, and the sanctuary at Shiloh. Each of these stages in the …

The Genuine Nature Of Worship In The Scriptures: Bowing Before God As An Act Of Submission, Michael Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The various translations of the Scriptures use the word worship over 250 times in both the Old and New Testaments. Unfortunately, many Christians and even scholars do not understand the meaning of worship and the purpose for doing it. It is pivotal, however, for Christians to understand the meaning and purpose for worship when directed toward God so they may live in obedience to him. The thesis of this dissertation will be that although Christians presume that worship means to praise God, the Scriptures teach that worship means to bow before God as an act of submission as he establishes …

Training The Church To Support Sufferers Of Mental Illness Through Comfort Clinics, Jonathan D. Blankenship

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The problem at Laurel Baptist Church (LBC) is the lack of trained members who are equipped to support those suffering from mental illness. The purpose of this DMIN action research project is to create Comfort Clinics, a structured program to train members to support sufferers of mental illness. Normative-sized churches are often uninformed on the topic of mental illness. Subsequently, in those environments, stigmas are nurtured, sufferers feel unseen, and church members lack the necessary training to provide the comfort and support that mental sufferers need. Building on the ecclesiastical call to “comfort those who are in any affliction” (2 …

Community Of Open Hands: Reimagining The Classroom Through Beauty, Eunsub Cho

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

One of the boldest decisions that I have ever made as an educator was taking twenty-four middle school students on a camping trip at the end of the school year. We had made our way through a couple of months of astronomy and what better way to conclude the project than to celebrate our learning by gazing at the celestial bodies with our own eyes! My time in the Midwest should have informed me that this was a naive plan, as Michigan skies have a mind of their own. Despite detailed planning, it started drizzling by the time our tents …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 39. What About Wallace's 'Agnosticism'...?, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) seems to have distinguished his earlier years of agnosticism from his later period as a spiritualist, but a closer look at the situation suggests he actually remained an agnostic all the way through to the end of his life. The confusion is occasioned by a lack of terminology that can be applied to his position, which most closely resembles a Spinozian manner of thinking.

Making Sense Of And Responding To The Good And Bad Within Psychology: Common Grace And Antithesis As Tools For Psychology, Tyler Greenway, Cory B. Wilson

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

As psychologists and students of psychology make sense of and respond to the good and bad within human behavior and its study, theological tools benefit their discernment. This paper presents two Neocalvinist theological concepts — common grace and antithesis — as tools for psychologists. These concepts help psychologists recognize God’s common gifts to humanity while also identifying what must be corrected. Such applications benefit psychologists in clinical cases and as they consider theoretical frameworks. When used together, these tools encourage us to anticipate both the true, good, and beautiful things in the world and the need at times for redirection. …

Does Deference To Religious Authority Predict Support For Political Violence?, John W. Compton, Ann Gordon

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Does deference to religious authority undermine support for democratic norms, including those forbidding the use of violence for political ends? Scholars have struggled to answer this question, in part, we believe, because they have typically employed proxies for religious deference (e.g. Biblical literalism, worship attendance, and self-reported religiosity) instead of measuring it directly. We develop a new measure of deference to religious authority in politics (DRAP), using the 2024 Chapman Survey of American Fears. We find that (1) DRAP is strongly correlated with support for political violence; (2) other common measures of religiosity (e.g. Biblical literalism and self-reported religiosity) are …

Authentic Malleability: Zen Buddhism And The Justification Of Japanese Cultural Superiority During World War Ii, Pj Wise

Senior Theses

Throughout history, religious traditions have been mobilized to justify nationalist violence and claims to cultural superiority. In modern Japan, Buddhism underwent a dramatic transformation, becoming one of the most sophisticated ideological justifications for Japanese imperialism during World War II. How did Zen Buddhism come to justify Japanese claims of cultural superiority during the Pacific War? Examining Buddhist institutional practices, philosophical texts, and wartime propaganda from 1941-1945, this thesis analyzes three mechanisms through which Buddhism legitimized Japanese superiority: claims to spiritual supremacy through Zen philosophy, militarization of Buddhist practice, and use of Buddhism as cultural imperialism in occupied territories. I argue …

Week 6: “I Believe In The Holy Spirit...”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 8: “I Believe In...The Forgiveness Of Sins, The Resurrection Of The Body, And The Life Everlasting. Amen”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 3: “...In Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord, Who Was Conceived By The Holy Spirit And Born Of The Virgin Mary”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 2: “…In God, The Father Almighty, Creator Of Heaven And Earth.”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 5: “The Third Day He Rose Again From The Dead. He Ascended To Heaven And Is Seated At The Right Hand Of God The Father Almighty. From There He Will Come To Judge The Living And The Dead”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 1: “I Believe...”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 4: “He Suffered Under Pontius Pilate, Was Crucified, Died, And Was Buried; He Descended To Hell.”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 7: “I Believe In...The Holy Catholic Church, The Communion Of Saints...”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

The Faith We Share: A Study Of The Apostles, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Pardon And Power For The Christian Life: The Role Of Grace In Youth Formation, Sofia C. Van Hattem

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Van Hattem, Sofia C. “Pardon and Power for the Christian Life: The Role of Grace in Youth Formation.” M.A. Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2026. 70 pp. Raising young people in the Christian faith is one of the principal tasks of the Church. Yet, congregations continue to face the persistent reality of youth slowly disengaging and leaving their home churches. This ongoing problem is foundational and affects congregations throughout The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). This thesis addresses the importance of Christian youth formation by focusing on the core theological concept that shapes the Lutheran theology: grace. Founded on the Scriptures and the …

Longevity, Resilience, And Thriving Of Women In Ministry: A Case Study Of Women In Ministry From A United Pentecostal Holiness Church, Eunice Cheryl Feltus Little

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The problem of ministry attrition caused by burnout is well documented. Research attributes the impact of burnout on the resilience, longevity, and thriving of ministry workers to role-related stress and adversity. High attrition rates throughout religious organizations and a lag in longevity and resilience contribute to a shortage of ministry workers. Some ministry workers leave the vocation because of stress and burnout, yet others persevere. Despite the possible adverse effects, many men and women find a sense of well-being and joy in ministry work. This qualitative distributive case study focused on those who stayed in ministry and the strategies …