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Meddling With The Gospel: Celsus, Early Christian Textuality, And The Politics Of Reading, Jeremiah Coogan

Jesuit School of Theology

The second-century philosopher Celsus disparaged Christians who “alter the original text of the Gospel three or four or many times” (Cels. 2.27). Scholars have understood this passage as a critique of multiple distinct Gospels, but Celsus’ invective is better explained by comparison with elite second-century polemics (e.g., Gellius, Lucian, Galen) against readers who lack discernment and arbitrarily alter manuscripts. For Celsus, Christians’ irresponsible textual practices reveal their cultural inferiority. The complaint is about varying copies of what Celsus thinks to be the same work: “the Gospel.” Christian thinkers in the second and third centuries—including Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, and the …

Music Literacy And Worship Theology For Volunteer Choir And Worship Teams, Timothy Ray Marsden

Masters Theses

When building a worship team and a worship-leading choir, worship pastors seek gifted volunteers within their congregations to add to the numbers of their groups. Assessing team members' music literacy and theology of worship often comes later in the process, if at all. This project aims to determine the essentials of music literacy for a volunteer choir or worship team member. It will create a curriculum for developing those skills further through weekly rehearsals. The project will also seek to define a theology of worship for the First United Methodist Church of Red Oak, Iowa, and a plan to study …

Charles Spurgeon And A Biblical View Of Wealth, Robert Sheppard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Charles Spurgeon preached wealth as a spiritual commodity based on his Christological exposition which countered the preaching of wealth as a divine right. Some people have come to view earthly wealth as a substance that comes as a result of obedience to God. There are also a number of people that believe that any biblical theology pertaining to wealth is amendable and see no lasting truth in the text. Spurgeon critiques these approaches. He saw earthly wealth primarily as a spiritual commodity and believed it to be a substance that should be utilized for the purpose of bringing glory to …

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Pastoral Liturgy

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A Community Centered By Love: A Linguistic Approach To The Theology Of Paul's Instruction For The Corinthian Body, Cadence Moore

Honors Projects

This article appropriates elements of M.A.K. Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to analyze the Apostle Paul’s communication with the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 12-14. The linguistic evidence of the text reveals that Paul’s instructions guide the Corinthians to order their community through love, imitating the Trinity’s nature of diversity and unity. The final section translates Paul’s teachings to a modern context using Richard B. Steele’s article, “Disability and the Beloved Community,” a reframing of how Christian communities interact with and not only include persons with disabilities but fully incorporate their diverse gifts into the church body.

Female Reception Of Stained Glass Images Of St. Anne In Late Medieval York: Women, Mothers, And Wives, Susanna Wyse Jackson

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

This article explores the depiction of St. Anne in the late medieval stained glass of three York parish churches. Focusing on two iconographic subjects, St. Anne teaching the Virgin Mary and St. Anne with her extended family, it argues that the representation of St. Anne in these contexts speaks to the conscious orientation of iconography towards female members of the laity. Images of St. Anne may have served to reinforce specific roles and values by providing a focus for performative identification. In addition, they reflect women’s status within the family, the parish, and society as a whole. This under-explored area …

“And God Blessed The Seventh Day And Sanctified It”: The Sabbath At Creation, Dedications, And Christ’S Theophany In 3 Nephi, Dan L. Belnap

Faculty Publications

The Creation narrative, found in various places within the canon of scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, describes the institution of two different types of time. The first type of time is established in the “fourth day” with the placement of the astronomical bodies, which act as markers “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years”—that is, common time (Genesis 1:14; Moses 2:14). The second type of time is established in the “seventh day,” when the Lord rests from his labors. Situated as it was at the conclusion of the physical creation and …

Artificial Intelligence: Its Impact On Christian Education, Youssry Guirguis

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

In recent years, the world has witnessed a resounding revolution in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and today there is no field where AI is not employed. These institutions have a major role in developing policies, curricula, and strategies to keep pace with the modern artificial revolution. The aim of this research is to find out how current developments in this ��eld are likely to impact education in the future, and how such developments in Edtech might impact on future graduates, colleges, universities, societies, and cultures.

Genesis 9:6: The Noahic Covenant And The Divine Blood Redeemer, Seth Kenan Pryor

Masters Theses

This thesis analyzes Gen 9:6 and its theological context in Genesis to determine the most exact interpretation of this passage. Chapter one focuses on an exegesis of Gen 9:1-7, arguing for a beth pretii (price or exchange) in Gen 9:6a. This argument is based on an accumulative analysis that considers overarching themes, lack of details, speech patterns, statistics, parallels, and structure. The conclusion is that v.5 presents God as the investigator and reckoner of bloodguilt, v.6a establishes a new principle of justice, and v.6b provides the theological rationale for a serious punishment. Chapter two places Gen 9:1-7 within its theological …

Embedding The Theology And Principles Of Worship In Pastoral Training And Sermon Preparation, Janicka E. Newbill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A current literature investigation exposes a deficit in encouraging pastors and preachers to embed theology and principles of worship in their sermon preparation and pastoral training. This presents a concern when churchgoers gather in person or virtually to hear a sermon to strengthen their Christian walk each week. In addition, each year, seminary students and local church organizations graduate ministry leaders trained and prepared to deliver sermons designed to meet the spiritual needs of churchgoers. Yet, upon closer examination, there exist underpinning issues. Churchgoers are lacking in their understanding of worship. The Association of Theological Schools exposes a noticeable gap …

Worship Leadership From The Beginning: A Comparative Study Of Exodus 15:1-21 And Judges 5, Vivian Ann Petties

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Although many excellent books, commentaries, and journal articles have been written on worship leadership, no framework for worship leadership has been developed based upon Exodus 15:1-21 or Judges 5. The purpose of previous research has not been to discover principles of leadership, praise, and worship, or composition of music for use in ministry nor to develop a consensus about the roles played by the males and females in these texts. To develop a proposal for filling this lacuna, the present thesis will study Exodus 15:1-21 and (comparatively) Judges 5. This qualitative study will employ the exegetical methods of socio-rhetorical analysis …

Becoming Who You Already Are In Christ: An Eight-Week Discipleship Plan To Equip Members Of Crossline Church To Live Out Their Identity In Christ, John Paul Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action-research project focused on equipping members of Crossline Community Church to live out their identity in Christ. The intervention was an eight-week discipleship plan, “Becoming who you already are in Christ.” The action-research project aimed to evaluate the impact of equipping believers with their identity in Christ upon their transformation into Christ-likeness. The project incorporated biblical, theological, and devotional content with a comprehensive pedagogy designed for maximum influence toward progressive sanctification. The twelve participants in the intervention engaged in sermons, training classes, small groups, and personal Bible studies as a part of the action research. Triangulated evaluation tools were …

Small Groups That Fuel Active Service In The Local Church, Stephen Jerel Love

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Manna Church prioritizes empowering and developing leaders as an imperative objective of the local church. Such development is fueled through various avenues, including small groups. This thesis project will survey the purpose of small groups within Manna Church and how newly designed groups can address the problem of low voluntary participation in weekly services. The need for more active serve team members problematically exists among six site locations in the Fayetteville-Fort Bragg region. Furthermore, each ministry leader seeks innovative strategies to initiate and maintain involvement during weekly services. However, numbers are at an unprecedented low point. The effects of these …

Authentic Credible Leadership: An Examination Of Jesus’S Leadership In The Farewell Discourses, Joshua D. Henson, Samuel Hemby

Selected Faculty Publications

This is a study of authentic credibility as demonstrated through John’s description of Jesus’ words and actions in the Farewell Discourses (John 13-17). Identifying the need for further research on the relationship between authentic leadership and credibility (Williams et al., 2018) and building from Kouzes and Posner’s (2011) six disciplines of leader credibility—discover yourself, appreciate constituents, affirm shared values, develop capacity, serve a purpose, and sustain hope—and Hemby’s (2007) on leader credibility, we espouse that moral foundations of authentic leadership promote leader credibility while not dimensioning the need for competence. After a thorough literature review on authentic leadership, the study …

Hospitality: Areas That Are Effective In Creating A Desire For A Visitor To Connect To Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Brent M. Hartwig

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This major applied project explores hospitality offered by the local congregation. Biblical hospitality is implicitly and explicitly commanded in scripture. Balancing the Missio Dei and two kinds of righteousness will keep us on the straight and narrow theologically when pursuing hospitality.

When churches offer hospitality, we are feeding, clothing, visiting, providing, and welcoming our neighbor. Our Redeemer wants to continue serving the community as a family-oriented, mission focused, hospitable congregation. We are doing the feeding, clothing, and providing through many efforts in the community. We are active with the local homeless shelter and crisis center. For the MAP, we wanted …

Positive Factors Related To The Decision To Study For The Office Of The Ministry By Men Of The Lutheran Synod Of Nicaragua (Iglesia Luterana Sínodo De Nicaragua/Lutheran Church—Canada), Edmund Auger

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Auger, Edmund D. “Positive Factors Related to the Decision to Study for the Office of the Ministry by Men of The Lutheran Synod of Nicaragua (Iglesia Luterana Sínodo de Nicaragua / Lutheran Church—Canada).” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2023. 128 pages.

The Lutheran Church throughout the world needs a continuing supply of men to serve as faithful pastors in the public ministry of the Gospel. The identification and spiritual formation of candidates for Word and Sacrament ministry is critical for the young national church body, Iglesia Luterana Sínodo de Nicaragua (Lutheran Synod of Nicaragua).

This project is …

There Is A Place For You And Your Little Ones: Homiletics And Liturgy In View Of Pregnancy Loss, Joseph Michael Baumgarten

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Baumgarten, Joseph M. There is a Place for You and Your Little Ones: Homiletics and Liturgy in View of Pregnancy Loss. Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2022. 81 pp.

Pregnancy loss and the grief that follows is more common than most people think. However, there is a gap in resources, discussion, and care for those who have experienced such losses. This is true in wider culture as well as in the church. While there are a few resources available, they are limited. This project addresses the church’s ability to provide proper recognition of pregnancy loss, the validation …

Embodied Superintendence: The Person Of The Preacher In Lutheran Homiletics Especially In Relation To Cultural Identity, Dennis Matyas

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Over the past several decades, the greater homiletical academy has progressed from questions of authority to dialogics to identity, both of the preacher and of the hearers. Within this timeframe, modern Lutheran homiletics has stayed relatively silent on considerations of the person of the preacher, opting instead for certain foundational homiletical truths including the efficacy of the Word of God, the proclamation of justification, and the authority of the Ministerium. After recovering the consideration of the person of the preacher as a foundational Lutheran homiletic, this work explores the formational significance of the preacher’s cultural identity by offering a theoretical …

A Spiritual Call: Jeremiah’S Call To The Heart And The Stages Of Spiritual Progression In Carmelite Spirituality, Julia S. Whelan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The aim of this study is first, to identify resonances between Jeremiah 1:10 and the three stages of the spiritual journey as defined by the Carmelites such as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila (i.e., the stages known as purgative, illuminative and unitive) and then, in light of an in depth understanding of the spiritual senses attributed to Jeremiah 1:10 in its reception history, to evaluate the impact of Jer 1:10 upon the Carmelite conception of the spiritual journey.

A comprehensive Word Study is undertaken of six task verbs from Jer 1:10, presented as three pairs: to root …

What God Has Joined Together: The One Threefold Purpose Of Marriage, David Frayne Shudy

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Modern married couples and marriage-minded individuals are often left awash in a sea of confusion aimlessly groping about for a purpose for their marriage, with disastrous societal results. Whereas long-standing Christian tradition has taught a unified threefold marital purpose of three equal elements—procreation, mutual help, and remedy for sin—Enlightenment thinkers and their ideological descendants have introduced a hierarchical marriage teleology with a self-chosen purpose (usually companionship) at the top in order to correct for an alleged countervailing overemphasis on procreation in premodern marital teleology.

This thesis will challenge the claim of a relative deficiency in the companionate aspect of premodern …

Journey With A Purpose, Walter Prescher

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

The modern church is in bondage from years of trauma rooted in the Post-Christendom decline. As the church has responded to the trauma it is enduring, it has responded by becoming stagnant as it seeks to maintain any relevance it still has. What the modern church is going through has strong parallels with the Hebrew people who were in bondage in Egypt and were delivered through the wilderness into the promised land of Canaan. Following this example, this dissertation walks church leadership through an understanding of the traumatized church and presents a what a modern-day Exodus journey could look like …

Recovering A Missional Ecclesiology: A Framework For Reviving Congregational Mission Within The Baptist Union Of Victoria, Gayle Hill

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This project is an intervention to develop a theological and theoretical framework

that will become the foundation for a future curriculum for recovering a missional ecclesiology for the pastors of the Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV). Despite mission being central to the overall vision of the BUV, declining numbers, the post-COVID context in Victoria, and an overarching post-Christian and pluralistic context have significantly challenged the centrality and functioning of mission across our denomination. The impetus of this project was the observation that our churches were floundering rather than flourishing in the missional space. Many chronic and acute provocations were …

Cultivating Reproductive Small Group Leaders Within Southwest Church, Springboro, Ohio, Roger D. Hendricks

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This project was designed to address an ongoing challenge within the Southwest Church (SWC) in Springboro, Ohio. The specific challenge that SWC leaders have faced throughout the twenty-five-year history of the church is to continually increase the number of small group options within a growing congregation. Small groups have been identified as the primary vehicle for SWC members to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. This congregational emphasis has led to the good dilemma of having more individuals willing to participate than lead weekly small groups. In the past few years, SWC leaders have identified the need for the …

The Voice Of One Crying In The Wilderness, Megan Kenyon

MFA in Visual Art

I am a Midwestern, Christian, and feminist artist. I make work about the beautiful, broken, and absurd ways in which American evangelical culture influences lives, especially women’s lives. I’m dragging everything into the light by deconstructing and critiquing the world in which I live, move, and have my being. I do this by harnessing prophetic imagination and incarnational space to shine a light on how patriarchy infects evangelical Christian theology and practice. Using prophetic imagination through photographic self-portraiture and text (my own and found texts using the Bible), I seek to make plain the effects of white, Christian patriarchy on …

The House Of Our Gods, Reyna Collazo

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

3-D

Redefining Unnatural: A Modern Understanding Of Paul’S Homophobia, Emma Bradley

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper examines the change in the meaning of the word “unnatural” in Romans 1:26-27, and establishes both an idea of what the Apostle Paul intended and a definition for how the word is used in modernity. There are five sections, each one building off of the next: Background, Analysis of the Text, Scholar’s Reading of the Text, Understanding and Usage in Antiquity, Modern Definition and Understanding, and Conclusion. The paper discovers that Paul’s intention with the word “unnatural” can be summarized as “any sex which is non-procreative, outside of marriage, and goes against gender roles.” However, a modern definition …

Contestant Theology: Toward A Play Theology Of Religions, Greg Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How can a Christian theology of religions navigate the interreligious dialogical problems of 1) the inability to fully articulate faith, 2) the lack of persuasive religious language, 3) the reality of violence among religions, and 4) the liquescent “truth” of modern times? This dissertation answers this question with a theology of religions considered through the lens of play theology. Contestant theology navigates these problems as 1) a space of cooperation and contest which 2) incorporates assertiveness (exclusivism), compassion (inclusivism), openness (pluralism) and free participation (Trinitarianism) to 3) hold together enriching and diminishing relationalities among diverse religious peoples with a view …

Christ In You Is Your Hope Of Glory: Exploring Colossians In The Sunday Lectionary, Maggie Nadalin

Obsculta

This paper was submitted in the Fall of 2022 as an assignment for LTGY 421: The Liturgical Year and the Word of God, exploring the use of Paul's letter to the Colossians in the lectionary cycle.

Widening The Lens From Genesis 19:5 To Genesis 18 And 19: A Remedy For Transmitted Blindness, Kelly Olson

Obsculta

This article is the product of an exercise in scriptural interpretation. The text of Genesis 18 and 19 were chosen due to an awareness of a common theme propagated by culture and the desire to better understand the content of the text using tools of interpretation that connect ancient text with contemporary human experience in hopes to open access to a diverse population that nurtures and elevates creation rather than divide and harm marginalized populations.

Isaiah 7:10-25: The Climax Of The Messianic Expectation, Thong K. Tran

Obsculta

Is there a man called Messiah who was promised by God? Did he come? Or will he come? Isaiah gave the most straightforward prophecy — Isaiah 7:10-25 — about him. Since then, a lot of efforts have been made to figure out "Who is he?" However, to acknowledge Jesus as the only fulfillment of the messianic expectation, a possibly correct interpretation is not enough. One also needs a leap of faith.