Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Full Issue Spiritus 8.1 (2023), [email protected]

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

God Our Neighbor: Discerning Our Calling By Discovering God's Life In Our Neighborhood, Wayne D. Beason Ii

DMin Project Theses

This April 2023 Doctor of Ministry project thesis at Lipscomb University presents the results of research completed with congregants and neighbors of Parkside Church of Christ in Dearborn Heights, MI. The research question driving this project is: How might a congregation’s missional identity be reshaped by attentiveness to God’s activity among their neighbors? The missional activity of the Holy Spirit makes God’s future accessible in the present both within and beyond the church; thus, the Spirit is discernible in the particularity of a neighborhood. For this reason, the local neighborhood functions as an arena of the Spirit’s activity, a source …

Gregory Of Nyssa And Apocatastasis, Weston Fields

Beets Paper Contest

Religion 243: Ancient and Medieval Christian Theology

Thesis: Gregory of Nyssa's arguments in favor of apocatastasis are very compelling.

A Multiphase Iterative Mixed-Method Study Of Lay-Equipping Competencies Of Midwestern Adventist Pastors, Gary Sean Collins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this Multiphase iterative mixed-method study is to determine if the lay equipping competency courses of a School of Divinity's MDiv program influences the church discipleship programs of graduate lead pastors to develop partnership with their parishioners in ministry and commitment for their church's mission. Burggraff (2015) attests that most evangelical churches in North America are in decline (p. 22). He and many other scholars believe that this general membership decline is due to a lack of emphasis on discipleship, by clergy (Burggraff, 2015). At this stage in the research, lay equipping competencies (LEC) will be generally defined …

Intergenerational Discipleship At St. Paul's Smoke Church, Elle Rulavage

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Intergenerational ministry through discipleship is found in the archetype of Christ and His disciples. St. Paul’s Smoke Church in Windsor Township, Pennsylvania, has impacted and influenced the area through many centuries in the generational call to follow Christ. The church has seen its ebbs and flows. In the past decade, membership has tremendously decreased, but the heart of love for God and its community is lasting. The pandemic of COVID-19 had limited ministry in the traditional sense. Still, the unorthodox ways of ministry were sought out and employed to continue St. Paul’s Smoke Church in its operation and functionality while …

Natural Lights & Natural Rights: The Problem Of The New Classical Natural Law Theory, Charles Neville Cacciatore

LSU Master's Theses

The present work examines the natural law jurisprudence of John Finnis. It argues that Finnis’s teaching is a genuinely new natural law theory. Finnis’s jurisprudence is not a re- presentation of the jurisprudence of St. Thomas Aquinas because its central element—a doctrine of natural rights—is a departure from Aquinas’s natural law teaching. In support of these claims, the present work relies upon the scholarship of Ernest L. Fortin, A.A. Following Fr. Fortin, it presents an understanding of the natural law that endorses a clear distinction between natural right and natural rights—between premodern political philosophy and modern political philosophy.

Expanding The Church’S Understanding Of The Scope Of Apologetics In Evangelism, Jonathan Dinkins

Selected Honors Theses

This paper examines the scope of Apologetics. It argues for the need of a nuanced, holistic form of Apologetics that incorporates a vast array of forms of persuasion that may be used by the Holy Spirit to show a nonbeliever the truth of the Gospel and the necessity to trust in Jesus. It records data from a quantitative study which investigated the personal faith journeys of disciples of Christ and the factors which helped to persuade them of the truth of the Gospel and to submit to the leadership of Jesus. This thesis proposes that the common evangelical understanding of …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 58 No 1 - April 2023), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

From the Editor: Karin Maag - 1 / Articles: “Going Abroad” in the German Academy: Abraham Kuyper as Continental Philosopher by Dylan Pahman - 3 / Old Princeton’s Midwestern Allies: An Aspect of Reformed Recovery Since 1930 by Kenneth J. Stewart - 29 / Catholic, Evangelical, and Reformed: The Theological Vision of I. John Hesselink by David Komline - 53 / Short Studies Low-Level Church Workers in the Spread of Reformed Protestantism in the Seventeenth-Century Dutch East Indies by Yudha Thianto - 89 / Review Essay: A New Wave of Scholarship on Karl Barth by Ronald J. Feenstra - …

The Gospel Of Luke: Major Themes, Narratives, And Theology, Adelyn Schoenbeck

Biblical Studies Student Projects

Within the paper, major Lukan themes are portrayed. The birth narrative is reimagined with major themes of the narrative, especially the purpose of the birth narrative to Theophilus, Luke's mentor. The paper defines and identifies Christology and discipleship which is formed from Luke. The paper illustrates what Jesus really means by stating the first century was an "evil and adulterous generation" (Luke 9:41). The essay concludes with the passion narrative and personal challenges that I have faced as studying the book of Luke.

Views Of Judaism And Jewish People In Jordan: Political, Social, Historical, And Religious Considerations, Thalia Gustina

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research was to find out what the general view of Judaism and Jewish people is within Jordan and what factors play into these views. There were a few aspects of this topic that were specifically focused on in this study. The impact of Israel on the way that Jewish people are perceived was one of the main topics explored. Part of this was looking at the history of Judaism and Jewish people in the Arab World and how the relationship between them and their non-Jewish neighbors changed after the creation of Israel. As a majority Muslim …

Sea Changes In The Lives Of Japanese Buddhist Women In Hawai‘I, Karma Lekshe Tsomo

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Three cycles of change characterize the evolution of Japanese Buddhist temples in Hawai‘i: the early years, the war years, and the contemporary period. This brief article explores women’s roles and patterns of adaptation to local circumstances over generations during these cycles of change. Special attention is given to the experiences of Japanese immigrant Buddhist women in the Jōdo Shinshū school of Buddhism. The aim is to show how Japanese women who immigrated to Hawai‘i helped shape a uniquely local flavor of Buddhism, made significant contributions to Jōdo Shinshū’s development, and helped ensure the continuity of Buddhist traditions up to the …

Monetary Muddles: Money And Language, Ethics And Theology, Tyler Womack

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation offers a theological critique of political economy by turning to Wittgenstein in order to re-think what “criticism” is and can be. It diagnoses the current state of critical discourse about money as incapable of properly dealing with the confusions or illusions such criticism identifies as intrinsic to our ways with money and economic production and exchange. The dissertation argues that while political economic critiques and heterodox theories of money rightly challenge the economic orthodoxy’s individualism and its illusions of an apolitical money and an autonomous market economy, these “social” critiques are caught in a Geltungslogik that dichotomizes “value” …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 65, No. 2

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 65, No. 2.

This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service.

Trust, Scripture, And The Spirit As Core Values Of Evangelism In A Chinantec Village In Oaxaca, Mexico, Eliseo Arce Hernandez, Ashley Stamper

Great Commission Research Journal

The paper provides both a rationale for an approach to evangelism and a practical, replicable ministry model focusing on three core values (trust, Scripture, and the Spirit) in order for churches and individuals to effectively fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), particularly in cross-cultural contexts. A case study using this model in an indigenous Chinantec community in Oaxaca, Mexico, is presented. In contrast to modern evangelistic strategies that emphasize speed and numbers, this model and field example offer an alternative approach to church planting, an approach with a long-term focus and a goal of mature disciples and healthy churches.

Book Review: Faith In The Wilderness: Words Of Exhortation From The Chinese Church Edited By Hannah Nation And Simon Liu, Ryan Jensen

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Missions And Money: Global Realities And Challenges By Jonathan J. Bonk, Michel G. Distefano, J. Nelson Jennings, Jinbong Kim, And Jae Hoon Lee, Gregory C. Cochran

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

The Top Ten Challenges Facing Churches In 2023, Edward E. Moody Jr.

Great Commission Research Journal

This article summarizes the results of a study conducted by the Great Commission Research Network seeking to identify the top challenges facing churches in 2023. The results are similar to other recently conducted studies, emphasizing challenges related to evangelism and young adults.

Growing And Declining Churches Face Different Challenges: A Statistical Analysis Of The Top Ten Challenges Facing Churches Study, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

The data behind the study The Top Ten Challenges Facing Churches (Moody, 2023) is presented and analyzed with a focus on differences between growing churches and non-growing churches. Church leaders (N = 129) indicated how difficult they believed it would be for North American churches to overcome 50 potential challenges. For most challenges, no significant difference between the church leaders from growing and non-growing churches was detected. However, church leaders from non-growing churches viewed 1) attractiveness of programs, 2) retaining young adults, 3) youth programs, 4) small group participation, and 5) effective strategy as more difficult challenges to overcome than …

Relationship Building For Evangelism Among English Language Learners In China, Ryan Jensen

Great Commission Research Journal

This empirical research revealed that relationship-building by missionaries among English language learners in China was a factor that facilitated their verbal communication of the gospel. For this study, I interviewed 15 missionaries who were identified by various leaders as being active in evangelism and who had shared the gospel with at least 10 Chinese people in the last year that they were on the field. Participants explained that they used the strategy of “funneling” interactions with Chinese individuals by narrowing down a large number of people with whom they had contact to a select few who were interested in spiritual …

Introduction To Special Section On Gary L. Mcintosh, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.