Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Introduction: Essays On Artificial Intelligence And Magnifica Humanitas, Ron Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Pax Christi International’S Representation Within International Governmental Organisations, Fr. Paul Lansu, Giulia Bordin

The Journal of Social Encounters

Pax Christi International (PCI) has used its consultative status at the United Nations since 1979 to connect grassroots peacebuilding with international policymaking. Initially focused on disarmament and human rights, PCI contributed to key international treaties and advocated against human rights violations worldwide. Over time, its advocacy expanded to include active nonviolence, ecological justice, sustainable development, and the accompaniment of local peacebuilders. By strengthening collaboration across its global network and enabling partners from conflict-affected regions to engage directly with international institutions, PCI continues to promote human dignity, international law, and a just and lasting peace through inclusive multilateral advocacy.

A Remarkable Journey Of Faith And Perseverance, John Zimmerman

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Ten months ago, Colin Jambekar was sitting through chemotherapy treatments that lasted up to seven hours a day while trying to keep pace with a demanding civil engineering course load.

On May 9, 2026, he walked across the commencement stage at Calvin University as a college graduate, cancer survivor, and conference champion student-athlete.

"Dark And Loathsome": The Construction And Persistence Of Racial Theology In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Margaret Phillips

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints banned Black men from holding the priesthood until 1978, a policy many mistake for the whole of the faith's engagement with race. This thesis argues that the priesthood ban was only a symptom of a far deeper theology of race, one built into Mormonism's broader theology from its founding. Two intertwined beliefs anchor this theology: the default whiteness of the human body and soul, and twin curse narratives that mark Black and Indigenous peoples alike as bearers of a divine curse— dark skin read as the visible penalty for their ancestors' sin. …

Beyond Self-Defense: A Critical Analysis Of The Biden Administration’S Application Of ‘Just War’ Theory In The Israel-Hamas War, Thomas Elias

Graduate Student Research Symposium

Abstract

The Israel-Hamas war has ignited critical questions regarding the justification for violence, particularly the right to self-defense. Harm to Palestinian noncombatants and the conflict’s prolonged duration has contributed to critiques and doubts about Israel’s military operations and the Biden administration’s substantial military aid post-October 7th. The war’s extensive destruction and dehumanization creates a stark tension with the Biden administration’s invocation of just war theory. This paper critically analyzes the Biden administration’s use of just war theory in supporting the Israel-Hamas war, investigating how Christian theological ethics on just war and self-defense have been utilized and misapplied since October 2023. …

Is Genuine Redemption Possible Through A Counterfeit Christ?, Tams M. Mullins

Masters Theses

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), commonly referred to as Mormons, consider themselves Christians without equivocation. Evangelical Christianity has, however, challenged this claim since the inception of the Latter-day Saints. The Latter-day Saints purport to be Christian in doctrine and practice and claim a Christian identity centered around their acceptance of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. While the Latter-day Saints ascribe to a high Christology, confess Jesus as Lord, and regard Him as their Redeemer, the Jesus of the Latter-day Saints’ literature bears little resemblance to the Jesus of evangelical Christianity. …

Doctor Of Ministry Final Portfolio: Developing A Dynamic Educational Curriculum For Truthwins.Com Supporting Its Global Prospective On Individual's Spiritual Formation, Randall Thomas Keith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This portfolio presents the development of a dynamic educational curriculum for Truthwins.com designed to support its global mission of fostering individual spiritual formation across cultural, social and theological boundaries. The project integrates biblical principles, intercultural competency and contemporary educational practices to cultivate rounded spiritual growth among learners worldwide. Drawing on theological reflection, qualitative research and practical ministry applications, the study outlines a framework that embraces inclusivity, promotes critical engagement with spiritual formation, and equips participants to embody authentic discipleship in a dynamic context. The resulting curriculum aims to inspire transformative learning experiences that unify spiritual development with Truthwins.com commitment to …

Trinity And Moderate Communitarianism: The Shape Of Social Engagement Within The Godhead, Harry Allotey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explores the doctrine of the Trinity through the lens of Social Trinitarianism in dialogue with African communitarian anthropology, particularly the Ghanaian construct of moderate communitarianism as articulated by Kwame Gyekye. The central thesis is that the concept of moderate communitarianism in African cosmology provides an appropriate conceptual framework for understanding the intra-Trinitarian relationship, one that complements Western insights and avoids some concerns associated with modalism and tritheism. By engaging African categories of personhood, community, and relational ontology, the study demonstrates that the life of the Triune God resonates deeply with African communitarian insights, while also offering theological correction …

The Role Of The Prophetic Commissioning Formula In Matthew’S Gospel, Marcus N. Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Scholars have long examined Matthew’s Gospel for its fulfillment quotations and theological emphases but have often overlooked its structural dependence on the Old Testament (OT) prophetic commissioning formula. This formula—divine encounter, mission mandate, prophetic objection, divine reassurance, and a sign of validation—serves as a critical framework throughout Matthew’s narrative, linking Christology, discipleship, and mission. This study addresses the gap by demonstrating how Matthew integrates these commissioning motifs to present Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of Israel’s prophetic tradition and to emphasize the continuity between Israel’s covenantal promises and the mission inaugurated by Jesus.

While the Limited Commission (Matt 10:5–42) and …

Lament Shift: Utilizing Biblical Lament As A Reframing Process To Help Church Members Of First Baptist Church Of Lumberton, Mississippi, Cope With Emotional Distress, Paul Wiseheart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this DMIN action research project was to address the problem that church members at First Baptist Church of Lumberton, Mississippi (FBCL) were unprepared to use biblical lament as a meaning-making coping practice to manage emotional distress. The thesis statement was that if FBCL church members participated in Lament Shift, they would report greater preparedness to manage emotional distress. Lament Shift is a curriculum-based program designed to equip FBCL church members to use biblical lament as a meaning-making coping practice in the context of a four-week peer support group. The study used a pre-experimental mixed methods design and …

See-Judge-Act In The Age Of Viral Violence: Moral Agency, Praxis, And Social Media, Thomas Elias

Graduate Student Research Symposium

More and more, young adults are encountering war and violence through an unrelenting stream of social media images and videos: bombed apartment blocks, civilians fleeing airstrikes, and acts of political violence. Psychological research links exposure to unfiltered depictions of war with heightened trauma symptoms. In the age of social media, people undergo the moral processes online in response to war, terror, and injustice. While these platforms amplify global awareness, they also strain the capacities of moral agents to see clearly, judge responsibly, and act meaningfully. Drawing on Catholic social thought, digital ethics, and psychological research, this project explores how viral …

من أجل لاهوت من حوض البحر الأبيض المتوسّط" – ملاحظات في المنهج"

Horizons et Conjonctures

يمثّل بيانٌ من أجل لاهوتٍ في حوض البحر الأبيض المتوسّط فرصةً لترجمة نداءٍ أدركنا، بوصفنا لاهوتيين ولاهوتيات، ضرورته المُلحّة، ألا وهو تطوير لاهوتٍ سياقيّ انطلاقًا من هذا "المكان" بالذات
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Le Manifeste « Pour Une Théologie Depuis La Méditerranée »

Horizons et Conjonctures

Le texte qui suit a vu le jour à partir d’expériences théologiques vécues sur les rives de la Méditerranée et à partir d’un chemin de recherche et d’échanges qui a duré plusieurs années. Il est maintenant proposé sous la forme d’un manifeste à ceux qui s’intéressent à cette thématique et qui entendent s’impliquer, de diverses manières, dans le processus initié. Selon l’étymologie même du terme « manifeste », nous avons en effet l’intention d’offrir aux Églises, à la communauté académique et à ceux qui souhaitent croiser notre travail un texte qui fasse connaître quelques acquis théoriques et quelques repères à …

Introduction Au Dossier Rtmed, Giuseppina De Simone

Horizons et Conjonctures

Mon intervention porte sur le Réseau Théologique Méditerranéen, notre engagement pour le tissage d’une communion ecclésiale et la construction d’une Méditerranée de paix. Le Réseau Théologique Méditerranéen n’est ni une association ni une fondation. Il est composé de personnes et, à travers elles, d’institutions et de centres de formation théologique qui ont choisi de travailler ensemble face aux défis que la Méditerranée pose à l’intelligence de la foi à notre époque.
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Notes De Méthodologie Pour Une Théologie Depuis La Méditerranée

Horizons et Conjonctures

Le Manifeste pour une théologie depuis la Méditerranée offrait l’opportunité d’exprimer publiquement l’appel pressant que nous, théologiens, ressentions : celui de développer, à partir de ce « lieu », une théologie contextuelle. Ce texte a ouvert des perspectives inattendues pour le partage d’intuitions, de convictions et de choix face aux défis futurs. Il nous semble important que le Manifeste soit désormais accompagné d’un texte méthodologique qui illustre le caractère d’une pratique théologique méditerranéenne.
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Éditorial, Lina Iskandar Hawat

Horizons et Conjonctures

Notre revue Horizons et Conjonctures consacre ce numéro spécial à deux documents d’orientation scientifique d’envergure, indissociables l’un de l’autre : le Manifeste pour une théologie depuis la Méditerranée et les Notes de méthode qui l’accompagnent. En tant qu’émanation de notre centre de recherche (CRSR), notre publication a pour mission de diffuser des travaux académiques rigoureux, mais également de structurer de nouveaux champs d’investigation. Ce diptyque programmatique répond pleinement à cette exigence. Il propose un véritable changement de paradigme, instituant l’espace méditerranéen au rang d’authentique lieu théologique et de nouveau cadre épistémologique.
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كلمة التحرير, لينا إسكندر حوّاط

Horizons et Conjonctures

يخصّص هذا العدد من مجلة "آفاق وسياقات" وثيقتين علميتين هما "البيان من أجل لاهوت من حوض البحر الأبيض المتوسط" و"الملاحظات في المنهج". وينسجم نشرهما مع رسالة المجلة في دعم البحث الأكاديمي واستكشاف آفاق معرفية جديدة، إذ يدعوان إلى تجديد المنهج اللاهوتي وجعل فضاء البحر الأبيض المتوسط مجالًا لاهوتيًا ومعرفيًا قائمًا بذاته
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مقدّمة عامّة, جيوزيبينا دي سيموني

Horizons et Conjonctures

تتناول مداخلتي دور الشبكة اللاهوتية المتوسطية، والتزامها بنسج شركة كنسية وبناء حوضٍ للبحر الأبيض المتوسط يسوده السلام. فالشبكة اللاهوتية المتوسطية ليست جمعيةً ولا هيئةً، بل شبكة تجمع أشخاصًا ومؤسساتٍ ومراكز للتعليم اللاهوتي، اختارت جميعها العمل معًا لمواجهة التحديات التي يطرحها حوض البحر الأبيض المتوسط على فهم الإيمان في عصرنا.

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Our Children Are Sacred: Faith, Disability Justice, And Educational Hope, Charles E. Becknell Jr., Pricella Morris, Monique Matute-Chavarria, Deirdre A. Williams

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

This manuscript examines how Black families interpret dis/ability through faith, caregiving, and communal life using Sacred Narrative Inquiry (SNI), a collaborative approach that treats family stories as sources of sacred and cultural knowledge. Grounded in disability theology and informed by Black liberation theology and Womanist epistemology, the study explores how families understand dis/ability as sacred and embodied, shaped by struggle, endurance, and hope. Through shared storytelling and collective interpretation, the analysis identifies recurring patterns of early moral formation, embodied knowledge that precedes institutional recognition, faith as a sustaining practice under constraint, and moments of recognition that affirm dignity and interrupt …

Judaism And Catholicism: Possibilities Of An Inter-Spiritual Dialogue, David Neuhaus

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article examines the possibilities of an inter-spiritual dialogue between Catholics and Jews. Describing the transformation of the Catholic attitude to Jews andJudaism in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, moving from a teaching of contempt to one of respect, it analyses the far-reaching reformulations of Catholic theology that promote an interreligious dialogue. After centuries of traumatic history, Jewish reactions have been hesitant. However, the past decades have led to a burgeoning relationship that can indeed flower into a mutual inter-spiritual dialogue that deepens the faith of both Catholics and Jews.