Digital Commons Network^™

Book Reviews

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Ai And Higher Education, Chris A. Kiesling

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Knowing What To Eat And When To Eat: Reading The Food Offering Text (1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1) From A Myanmar Christian Perspective (Burmese Version), Hram Hu Lian

The Asbury Journal

Food offerings play a vital role in the socio-religious life of the people of Myanmar. This is mainly because food is served as a part of worship in religious settings (Nat worship, Ahlu pwe, and religious festivals), as well as a part of regular interactions in a social setting (workrelated dinner parties, dinner parties at a Buddhist neighbor’s house, and non-religious social gatherings). In this context, knowing what to eat, and when to eat, becomes crucially important for Myanmar Christians as often times a person encounters various questions in regard to food offerings such as; Should a Christian participate in …

Freemasonry And The Methodist Episcopal Church In The Nineteenth Century, Nicholas M. Railton

The Asbury Journal

Virtually nothing has been written on the presence and impact of Freemasonry within the Methodist Episcopal Church. This article begins to fill this lacuna by shedding some light on the topic. It has been claimed that John Wesley was himself a Freemason. In his journal he briefly discusses a book by an ex-Mason.

In this article some of the similarities and differences between the two systems are highlighted. The Morgan Affair temporarily weakened the position of Freemasonry in the Methodist Episcopal Church and in broader American society. Twelve short biographies of Methodists who joined the lodge show that the influence …

Records Of The American Society Of Missiology Arc2017-003 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Can We Ever Arrive At A Conclusive Interpretation Of Scripture?, Jarrod Julian Lee

Obsculta

The Church today is highly fragmented, with thousands of denominations. Unsurprisingly, there is much disagreement on how to interpret Scripture, even within the Catholic Church. This piece examines if an objectively right answer on how to interpret Scripture is possible, focusing on the Gospels, especially Luke’s, and three candidates that can play such an arbitration role between competing interpretations – historical truth, experts and the author’s intention. While no conclusive answer can be obtained, radical skepticism is not an inevitability; the broad parameter that is our community’s intuitions can play a ‘loose’ arbitration role.

The Mythic Seeds Of Human Rights, Joshua Mackenzie Luna

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In this thesis, I propose a causal relationship between ancient societies’ mythic corpuses and their law codes. I begin by presenting the histories and historiographies of ancient Israel and Mesopotamia to highlight important themes in their development. Then, I place their creation and flood myths side-by-side for comparison, yielding key differences in the way each group conceptualizes human form, value, and purpose. Once these key differences have been established, I compare each group’s set of slave laws to demonstrate how each law code remains philosophically consistent with its respective set of myths and diametrically opposed to the set from the …

Week 8: A New Set Of Clothes, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 4: The Family Expands, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 7: Follow The Leader, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 1: Overview Of Growing Up In Christ, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Mark 6:30-44, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 2: Our Origin Story, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Volunteering And Spiritual Practices: A Cross-Country Analysis In The Seventh-Day Adventist Context, Elbert Kuhn

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Although the number of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) volunteers worldwide has increased dramatically, the Church continues to face challenges in engaging people, particularly young adults, in volunteer and mission projects on a global scale. While interest in volunteering is growing, especially in countries within the southern hemisphere, the percentage of participation remains disproportionately small in comparison to the global church membership. Given this disparity, there is a pressing need to research the impact of the volunteer experience on spiritual practices and discipline. Understanding how volunteering influences young adults’ spiritual growth is critical to developing strategies that can effectively engage more …

Thanksgiving Prayer Walk, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Lectio Divina For Department Meetings, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 6: The Upside-Down Growth Chart, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

The Gospel According To Matthew: Emphasizing Jesus’ Character In Us & His Mission Through Us, Mark E. Killam

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

Consider The Lilies: How Jesus Saves People And The Land, Howard A. Snyder

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

The Prophetic Role Of The Church In The Associations Of Nagaland Baptist Churches Council (Nbcc) To Address The State Of Morality And Spiritual Transformation In The Land, Imti Lithrongla

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Doctrine Of The Trinity In Southern African Seventh-Day Adventism: A Historical-Theological Study, 1887-1974, Grant Lottering

Master's Theses

The Topic

The doctrine of the Trinity in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has often been viewed with suspicion, largely because many early Adventist pioneers expressed seemingly anti-Trinitarian sentiments. However, a review of Seventh-day Adventist publications reveals that early Adventists actually rejected Modalism, a misunderstood variation of Trinitarianism, rather than the biblical concept of the Trinity. When Seventh-day Adventist missionaries arrived in Africa in 1887, the earliest converts had a Dutch Reformed background and were already Trinitarian. Seventh-day Adventists found that their understanding of the Trinity aligned with these converts’ beliefs, and thus, they never needed to correct …

The Divine Call: Theophanies Of Athena And Yhwh In Comparative Perspective, Kenny Gomes Ebinger

Master's Theses

Problem

While parallels between Ancient Near East (ANE) literature and the Hebrew Bible are well established in contemporaneous scholarship, the Greek corpus has received little attention in recent studies. This paper addresses this gap by investigating a theophany scene from each corpus, in order to compare how the human-deity encounter is presented in Exodus 3:1–4:17 and Odyssey 1:96–324.

Method

The textual analysis of each scene employs a narratological framework. It takes both texts synchronically and grounds its comparison on the narrative formal elements, structures, and functions. The similarities and differences between each theophany are presented by their emerging themes and …

Coding The Greek New Testament In The Text-Fabric Open Source Environment, Saulo De Oliveira Cantanhêde

Master's Theses

Problem

Over the centuries, the Bible has been reproduced in various forms, from scrolls to codex, handwritten codex to printed books, and, more recently, the digital Bible. However, proprietary software tools lack in providing a more rigorous approach to advanced research in data-driven linguistic and exegetical studies.

Method

I report the final implementation of a data conversion project to convert an existing open source Nestle 1904 Greek New Testament encoded in XML format through Text-Fabric software (N1904-TF). The data was converted using Python packages and made available in a GitHub repository for programmers and non-programmers. Also, I developed over 60 …

A Comparative Analysis Of Current Understandings Of The High Priestly Ministry Of Jesus In The Heavenly Sanctuary, Samuel Amirtharaj

Master's Theses

Problem

Seventh-day Adventists consider the subject of the sanctuary to be the kingpin that interconnects all of the other doctrines. Both Adventists and non-Adventists agree that it is the Adventist understanding of the sanctuary that sets them apart from other Christian denominations. Almost since the inception of the Church, there have been many critics of the Adventist doctrine of the sanctuary and its associated teachings, both from within and from without the Church. Former Adventists and non-Adventists alike have discredited the significance of the sanctuary. However, numerous books on the sanctuary have been published recently by Christian scholars; these books …

The State Of Man In Romans 7:22-25: Historical And Exegetical Approaches, J Daniel Miranda

Master's Theses

Problem

This thesis addresses the question as to the identity of “I” in Romans 7 and the related spiritual experience. Romans 7 is a very complex chapter that has elicited multiple discussions, which still do not answer the theological problems satisfactorily. Such theological pluralism has also led to various views regarding sin and salvation. Since understanding sin and redemption are fundamental to one’s salvation, there are strong feelings related to the different positions taken. This has also been the case in Adventism, and, unfortunately, this has affected the unity of the church. Part of the problem is seeing the regenerate-unregenerate …

The Fifth (202-195 Bce) And The Sixth (170-168 Bce) Syrian Wars In The Dead Sea Scrolls: Implications For Understanding The Origin Of The Maccabean Revolt, Kenneth Atkinson

Faculty Publications

The rulers of the Seleucid and the Ptolemaic Empires fought six wars for control of the region known as Coele-Syria during the third and the second centuries BCE. These conflicts weakened both powers, allowing them to be conquered by the Roman Republic. For the Jews of Judea, the Fifth Syrian War witnessed increased conflicts in the country among its high priests regarding the nature of Hellenistic reforms and how to deal with the Seleucid Empire. These difficulties continued and led to the Maccabean Revolt at the conclusion of the Sixth Syrian War, which would eventually culminate in Judean independence from …

Theory And Practice In John Wesley’S Critique Of Calvinism: A Philosophical Examination, Walter Stepanenko

The Asbury Journal

On more than one occasion, John Wesley found himself engaged in debate with Calvinists in the Methodist revival. This paper philosophically re-examines John Wesley’s concerns with the Calvinism of some members of his evangelical cohort. It is argued that Wesley’s concerns fall into two types: theoretical concerns about the conceptual coherency of a view that makes God the author of sin, and practical concerns about the moral implications of a view that suggests some individuals are elect and others are reprobate. This article then attempts a principled reconstruction of these objections. It is argued that while there is a rational …

From The Archives: The Robert A. Danielson Collection Of Christian Tracts And Pamphlets- “Little Preachers” Of The Gospel Message, Robert A. Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Blessed Be The Holiness Tie That Binds, Don Thorsen

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.