Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

From Patristics To Postmodernity: Does A Message Still Exist?, Douglas Taylor

Other Graduate Scholarship

Dr. David Wheeler once advised that while not all are called to be an evangelist, all Christians are called to be evangelical. Although some may counter that postmodernity is waning, the question remains how one might be evangelical in a postmodern world. The concept that no metanarrative exists has been one of the pillars of postmodernity, and as such challenges the premise that Scripture contains an overarching story encompassing all of mankind. If Dr. Wheeler was correct, and all are called to be evangelical, then the question that would seem to require answering is how one might begin to address …

Menorah Review (No. 83, Summer/Fall, 2015)

Menorah Review

L’hitraot... -- A Model of Courage -- Books in Brief -- Compassion and Truth Meet (Psalm 85.11) -- Four Poems -- From the Classics -- Judaism and a Heliocentric Universe -- Two Essays by Peter Haas -- Zachor

Beyond Homoiousios And Homoousios: Exploring North American Indigenous Concepts Of The Shalom Community Of God (Chapter 2 Of The Trinity Among The Nations), Randy S. Woodley

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

The fourth-century battle over the interpretation of a single developed trinitarian theology laid the groundwork for numerous binary trajectories, with some resulting in Christian imperialism. Western Christianity's early preoccupation with divine ontology, coupled with the military might of the Christian empire and the West's inability to hold the mystery of God in tension, has beleaguered Christians and other monotheists for centuries. An Indigenous understanding of the divine shalom community may offer different choices that are perhaps closer to the constructed understandings of Trinity held by early followers of the Christ. In their various perceptions, early Jewish Christians recognized and acknowledged …

Happiness Haven, Amos R. Wells

Books

No abstract provided.

“Fall” And Redemption In The Thought Of Martin Heidegger And Jacques Lacan, Tyler Akers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines and develops Martin Heidegger’s concept of “falling” as a significant historical-philosophical principle. Falling, however, is primarily understood as a concept of the early Heidegger, whereas I argue that Heidegger continues to rely upon it, both explicitly and implicitly, throughout his career. Falling is a description of philosophical and Western history, known as metaphysics, and the description of man’s relationship to Being. Thus, falling relates to the most significant streams in Heidegger’s later thought, too, including the truth of Being, the death of God, the gods, the overcoming of metaphysics, and meditative thinking.

I then reinterpret the traditional …

Conversion: A Reflection On The Influences Involved In The Personal Eternal Change Event Within The Global Community, Edward Charles Nelson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What is conversion? For many, conversion is defined psychologically, sociologically, anthropologically and culturally, philosophically, or religiously and theologically. No matter how conversion may be defined academically, that definition becomes rather confining. It could be that in focusing on human inducements, the dynamic of the real Source of conversion can be missed. It has been disclosed that while the human factors involved in a decisive event can be initiated by the divine dynamic, it is only when there has been a response of humility and repentance with faith that God seems willing to complete his global “new birth” work of conversion.

"Nothing", Fr. Randy Roche

Spiritual Essays

No abstract provided.

Praying The Psalms, Kathryn M. Schifferdecker

Faculty Publications

The Psalms teach us how to pray. When we pray the Psalms, we follow in the footsteps of a long line of Christians and Jews who have used the Psalter as a guide to prayer. We learn from those saints to bring all of ourselves to God in prayer: our sorrows, our laments, and our anger as well as our joys and praise.

A True Word?: Scripture, Authority, And The Question Of Truth, Alan G. Padgett

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Simple Gospel, Vol. 2, Bishop H.C. Morrison

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

Borderless Boundaries – As Means Of Death And Life: Wilderness Portraits In Patristic And Rabbinic Literature, Daniel Maoz

Luther Faculty Publications

This study examines the role played by environmental representation of an apparent borderless boundary, the desert, as presented in Scripture – the Hebrew Bible / First Testament. It considers lessons derived from “desert-thought” testified within Rabbinic and Patristic literature. In Scripture, the desert played a prominent role in both Exodus and Akedah, two narratives central to Jewish thought and Christian theology. Beyond this, desert fathers such as Antony of Egypt expressed profound spirituality through this desolate land (Chrysostom; Athanasius, Vita). The Rabbis repeatedly embellished, for virtue’s sake, lessons gained from this same bleak landscape (Midrash Bemidbar Rabbah). An early version …

The Richest Legacy: Recovering The Lord's Supper As A Means Of Grace In The Free Methodist Church Usa, Jarad L. Bivins

Theses and Dissertations

As descendants of the Wesleyan heritage, the Free Methodist Church USA maintains the belief that the Sacraments, particularly the Lord’s Supper, function as a means of grace within the church. Given the significant role that the Lord’s Supper played in early Methodist thought and practice, this thesis seeks to discover the level of fidelity the Free Methodist Church USA has when it comes to its understanding of the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace in the Wesleyan tradition. By exploring the current Free Methodist Church USA’s understanding of the sacrament, along with the historical Wesleyan relationship with the Lord’s …

Magic And Christianity In The Acts Of The Apostles: The Confrontation., Chandra Han

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

Magic is an intriguing topic in the New Testament but compared to other topics of discussion in New Testament Studies, the significance of the theme of magic has been unjustly undermined as indicated by David E.Aune. From the all eight occurrences of magic in the New Testament, four are found in the Acts of the Apostles. Therefore, the Acts of the Apostles is the most significant source to understand magic. The purpose of this thesis is to figure out the understanding of magic and Christianity in the Acts of the Apostles. Since Christianity flourished in the Greco-Roman era, the understanding …

Do Not Strike Hands In Pledge: Comparative Perspectives On Surety For Debt In Proverbs., Doren G. Snoek

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

Six proverbs on surety for debt present unique difficulties for interpreters of the Hebrew Bible. Because surety for debt is only occasionally mentioned, the inner-biblical data is hard-pressed to resolve the many differences of opinion. There is a large body of primary texts from the ancient Near East that indicates that surety was a widespread practice in a vast historical period. There is also a large body of secondary literature focused on these texts. The primary and secondary literature is sufficiently robust as to warrant a closer look from biblical scholars. This thesis argues that the extra-biblical texts elucidate the …

The Creation Of Daoism, Paul Fischer

Philosophy & Religion Faculty Publications

This paper examines the creation of Daoism in its earliest, pre-Eastern Han period. After an examination of the critical terms "scholar/master" and "author/ school", I argue that, given the paucity of evidence, Sima Tan and Liu Xin should be credited with creating this tradition. The body of this article considers the definitions of Daoism given by these two scholars and all of the extant texts that Liu Xin classified as "Daoist." Based on these texts, I then suggest an amended definition of Daoism. In the conclusion, I address the recent claim that the daojia /daijiao dichotomy is false, speculating that …

Sirens, Fr. Randy Roche

Spiritual Essays

No abstract provided.

Who Did It?, Fr. Randy Roche

Spiritual Essays

No abstract provided.

More With Less, Fr. Randy Roche

Spiritual Essays

No abstract provided.

Useful?, Fr. Randy Roche

Spiritual Essays

No abstract provided.

Help For The Tempted, And That Means All Of Us, Amos R. Wells

Books

No abstract provided.