Digital Commons Network^™

Window Shopping And Turf Control, W. Milton Adams

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"In the past there has been much appropriate emphasis on the laity’s posture of respect toward church leadership. But what matters now is an equal and proactive posture of respect toward the laity. As new methods and new plans spring forth from the laity, cooperation and mutual respect must also spring forth. The result will look and function like a peer relationship. In today’s developing culture, the onus will lie on church leadership to rid themselves pf any turf control and instead develop skills of cheering, funding, and quickly embracing God-honoring lay ministries. So, a call to smooth the way, …

On Trial: The Branch Davidians Of Waco Texas 1987-1993, Andrew Michael Pedrotti

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the integration of the Branch Davidians into the Waco, Texas community during the years immediately preceding the BATF siege of 1993. An examination of media and biographical sources indicates that the Branch Davidians were better integrated in the community than is commonly suggested. Survivor accounts describe the Branch Davidians working and relaxing in Waco, rather than hiding in their compound. A survey of local newspaper coverage reveals that the press in Waco had a positive view of Koresh and the Branch Davidians in the late 1980s. In particular, coverage of a 1988 trial involving David Koresh and …

ลัทธิพิธีบูชาพระพรหมในสังคมไทยร่วมสมัย : พลวัตของตำนาน ความเชื่อ และพิธีกรรม, อภิวัฒน์ สุธรรมดี

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

วิทยานิพนธ์เล่มนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาลัทธิพิธีบูชาพระพรหมและการประดิษฐ์สร้างลัทธิพิธีบูชาพระพรหมในสังคมไทยร่วมสมัย ผู้วิจัยเก็บข้อมูลภาคสนามในช่วง พ.ศ.2556-2560 ในพื้นที่ที่ปรากฏลัทธิพิธีบูชาพระพรหม ได้แก่ กรุงเทพมหานคร ปทุมธานี สิงห์บุรี ร้อยเอ็ด และประจวบคีรีขันธ์ ผลการศึกษาพบว่า ความเชื่อพระพรหมดำรงอยู่ในวัฒนธรรมไทยมายาวนาน ตำนานเรื่องเล่าพระพรหมในสังคมไทยส่วนใหญ่อิงอยู่กับศาสนาพุทธ มีลักษณะที่ปรากฏอยู่แต่ไม่โดดเด่น คือ เป็นเทวดาชั้นสูงแต่มีบทบาทเป็นรองพระพุทธเจ้าและเกี่ยวข้องกับเรื่องทางธรรม เมื่อ พ.ศ.2499 กลุ่มนักการเมืองได้นำรากความเชื่อพระพรหมมาปรุงแต่ง แล้วสร้างเป็นพระพรหมเอราวัณ เรื่องราวความศักดิ์สิทธิ์ของพระพรหมเอราวัณเล่ากันอย่างแพร่หลายในสื่อสมัยใหม่ เกิดเป็นความนิยมบูชาพระพรหมขึ้นในสังคมเมืองแล้วกลายเป็นลัทธิพิธีบูชาพระพรหมทำให้ "พระพรหม" ซึ่งเป็นเทพเจ้าชั้นสูงที่มีบทบาทอยู่แต่ในศาสนาลงมาเกี่ยวข้องกับมนุษย์ในเรื่องทางโลกมากขึ้น ลัทธิพิธีนี้ได้แพร่กระจายไปยังภูมิภาค แต่ละที่ได้ประดิษฐ์สร้างพิธีบูชาพระพรหมขึ้น พิธีบูชาพระพรหมที่จัดขึ้นมีองค์ประกอบแตกต่างกันเพราะมี 'ที่มา' ต่างกัน สัญลักษณ์ในพิธีกรรมปรากฏอย่างหลากหลาย ทำให้ลัทธิพิธีบูชาพระพรหมเกิดความสมจริง และสร้างความศรัทธาจากผู้เคารพบูชา นอกจากนี้ยังมีสัญลักษณ์ชุดอื่น ๆ อันแสดงถึงการผนวกรวมความเชื่อต่าง ๆ ในวัฒนธรรมไทย ซึ่งสัมพันธ์กับวัตถุประสงค์ของผู้จัดงาน สัญลักษณ์ในลัทธิพิธีบูชา พระพรหมสื่อว่าพระพรหมเป็นตัวแทนความดีงามและเป็นตัวแทนคนในวัฒนธรรมเมือง อีกทั้งยังสะท้อนการผสมผสานลัทธิความเชื่อต่าง ๆ ในวัฒนธรรมไทยเพื่อให้คนเมืองมี "จุดร่วม" ทางความเชื่อ ลัทธิพิธีบูชาพระพรหมมีพลวัตทั้งด้านตำนานเรื่องเล่า ความเชื่อ และพิธีกรรม คุณสมบัติที่หลากหลาย ภาพลักษณ์ที่สื่อด้านดี ทำให้คนร่วมสมัยนำความเชื่อพระพรหมมาปรุงแต่งเพื่อรับใช้สังคมปัจจุบัน ลัทธิพิธีบูชาพระพรหมเป็น'ลัทธิคนในวัฒนธรรมเมือง' เกิดขึ้นเพื่อตอบสนองคนเมืองซึ่งมีวิถีชีวิตและความปรารถนาอันซับซ้อน ลัทธิพิธีนี้เป็นทุนวัฒนธรรมที่นำมาสร้างจุดขายและส่งออกไปสู่สากลได้

Issues In Christian Encounters With Yoga: Exploring 3ho/Kundalini Yoga, Michael Stoeber

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

The paper begins by drawing out current issues that have been raised by critics concerning the contemporary practice of Hindu postural types of yoga in western and specifically western Christian contexts, with some illustrative reference to contemporary movements and schools, especially to Bikram Yoga. These are: cultural misappropriation; commodification; lack of moral pre-requisites; narcissistic attachment to bodily effects; occult influences; and doctrinal differences. The paper then explores specific aspects of the theory and practice of 3HO/Kundalini Yoga (3HO/KY) by Christians in light of these possible issues, showing how this tradition of Kundalini Yoga seems to skirt or side-step most of …

The New Wine: Spirit, Transformation, And Gender In The U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, 1960-1990, Jacob Aaron Waggoner

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Charismatic Catholic Renewal (CCR)—known in Mexico as the Renovación Cristiana en el Espíritu Santo—saw Roman Catholic believers experience ecstatic spiritual practices native to neo-Pentecostalism. At first highly ecumenical, CCR emerged from loosely organized prayer meetings in the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a coherent movement by around 1975. Like many developments after the Second Vatican Council, CCR represented an effort to revitalize the Church by re-centering and empowering the laity. Reflecting a broader reactionary shift in the 1980s, the Renewal gradually shed its potentially liberating elements. This transition was especially notable in the context of the U.S.-Mexico …

Review Of Praying And Preying: Christianity In Indigenous Amazonia By Aparecida Vilaça, Aleksandar Boskovic

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

A Bounded Affinity Theory Of Religion And The Paranormal, Joseph O. Baker, Christoper Bader, F. Carson Mencken

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

We outline a theory of bounded affinity between religious experiences and beliefs and paranormalism, which emphasizes that religious and paranormal experiences and beliefs share inherent physiological, psychological, and ontological similarities. Despite these parallels, organized religious groups typically delineate a narrow subset of experiences and explanatory frames as acceptable and True, banishing others as either false or demonic. Accordingly, the theory provides a revised definition of the “paranormal” as beliefs and experiences explicitly rejected by science and organized religions. To demonstrate the utility of the theory, we show that, after controlling for levels of conventional religious practice, there is a strong, …

Discipleship Structures, Movements, And The Role Of Multipliers, Laurence G. Burn

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of "Righteous Transgressions" By Lihi Ben Shitrit, Anissa Helie

Publications and Research

This is a Book Review for the following publication:

Righteous Transgressions: Women’s Activism on the Israeli and Palestinian Religious Right. By Lihi Ben Shitrit. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016. 239pp. $22.95 paper.

Engagement And Resistance: African Americans, Saudi Arabia And Islamic Transnationalisms, 1975 To 2000, Jeffrey Diamant

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the 1960s, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has financed missionary efforts to Muslims around the world, attempting to spread a Salafi form of Islam that professes strict adherence to Islamic sacred scripture. The effects of this transnational proselytization have depended on numerous factors in “host countries.” This project explores the various impacts of Saudi transnational religious influence in the United States among African-Americans. By relying on previously unused documentary sources and fresh oral histories, it shows how Saudi “soft power” attempted to effect change in religious practices of African-American Muslims from 1975 through 2000. It provides the most detailed …

Religious Processions In Indonesia: Cultural Identity And Politics On Bali And Lombok, David Harnish

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

In Bali and Lombok in Indonesia, processions—like similar events in many other parts of the world—are ritualized events breaking the normal flow of time. They are always temporally marked, and can be characterized as either religious and temple- or mosque-sponsored, or secular and state-sponsored. This article discusses religious processions generally on the neighbor islands of Bali and Lombok, and focuses on the processions of the spectacular Lingsar temple festival on Lombok. The festival conjoins the migrant Hindu Balinese and the local Muslim Sasak (the majority ethnic group) in ritual participation, but that participation differs in significant ways that are represented …

In Continuity With The Past: Indigenous Environmentalism And Indian Christian Visions Of Flora, James Ponniah

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article considers whether Indian Christianity can be said to have a distinctive ecological vision. The first two parts of the article examine Christian environmentalism in two native forms of Indian Christianity: Tamil Christianity and Tribal Christianity. Continuing with the theme of conformity to the local culture—though of the elite—the third part of the article investigates how Christian Ashrams function as dynamic centers for ecological praxis. The last part of the article considers how contemporary Indian Christian communities can respond to the ecological challenges confronting them.

Pharaonic Occultism: The Relationship Of Esotericism And Egyptology, 1875–1930, Kevin Todd Mclaren

Master's Theses

The purpose of this work is to explore the interactions between occultism and scholarly Egyptology from 1875 to 1930. Within this timeframe, numerous esoteric groups formed that centered their ideologies on conceptions of ancient Egyptian knowledge. In order to legitimize their belief systems based on ancient Egyptian wisdom, esotericists attempted to become authoritative figures on Egypt. This process heavily impacted Western intellectualism not only because occult conceptions of Egypt became increasingly popular, but also because esotericists intruded into academia or attempted to overshadow it. In turn, esotericists and Egyptologists both utilized the influx of new information from Egyptological studies to …

Shirdi Sai Baba As Guru And God: Narasimhaswami’S Vision Of The Samartha Sadguru, Karline Mclain

Faculty Journal Articles

B. V. Narasimhaswami (1874–1956) never met Shirdi Sai Baba face to face, for he arrived in Shirdi eighteen years after Sai Baba’s death in 1918. However, the overwhelming sense of loving union he experienced in Shirdi convinced him that Sai Baba was still accessible from beyond the grave. For the remaining years of his life he worked relentlessly to spread Sai Baba’s name throughout India. This article examines the tension between inclusion and exclusion in Narasimhaswami’s interpretation of Sai Baba. Narasimhaswami believed that Sai Baba was a divinized guru with two interconnected missions: The spiritual uplift of individuals and the …

What Is Magic To The Laveyan-Satanist Ideal Type?: A Content-Analysis Of The Satanic Bible’S Descriptions Of Magic, Carter E. Timon

Anthropology Summer Fellows

In 1966 Anton Szandor LaVey founded the Church of Satan (CoS) in California, and by 1969 published The Satanic Bible (1969). While many believe that the use of magic has declined in the Western world, LaVeyan Satanism according to The Satanic Bible actively includes magic while embracing rationalist philosophy. Satanism is an understudied New Religious Movement (NRM) and little is understood about its core tenets and practices. This paper uses content analysis of The Satanic Bible to understand how LaVey originally presents the workings of Satanic magic to his Western audience. Conclusions refer to the import of magic to the …

Review Of Sergeev's "Theory Of Religious Cycles: Tradition, Modernity, And The Bahá’Í Faith", Maria Kaplun

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Peasant Revolts As Anti-Authoritarian Archetypes For Radical Buddhism In Modern Japan, James Mark Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

The late Meiji period (1868-1912) witnessed the birth of various forms of “progressive” and “radical” Buddhism both within and beyond traditional Japanese Buddhist institutions. This paper examines several historical precedents for “Buddhist revolution” in East Asian—and particularly Japanese—peasant rebellions of the early modern period. I argue that these rebellions, or at least the received narratives of such, provided significant “root paradigms” for the thought and practice of early Buddhist socialists and radical Buddhists of early twentieth century Japan. Even if these narratives ended in “failure”—as, indeed, they often did—they can be understood as examples of what James White calls “expressionistic …

"The Family" & Faith: The Theology Of Power, Erika Phillipo

Senior Theses

The Family & Faith: The Theology of Power hopes to shed light on the relationship between American politics, American history, and the Christian Fundamentalist group known as The Family. This paper uses the book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by Jeff Sharlet as its main source. By connecting the relationship between this mega-group with American politics and politicians, the theme of power arises and refuses to go away. Thus, the focus goes beyond simply just political influence and history and instead results ultimately with how the group gains and maintains their power within the …

Interfaith Youth Core: Theology And Religious Commitment In One Of America’S Most Prominent Youth Interfaith Organizations, Megan A. Weiss

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

This thesis project explores the role of faith and theology in the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), one of the most prominent youth interfaith organizations in North America in order to determine whether this organization is aptly titled. Through the lens of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s assertions about the role of faith in interfaith dialogue and relations, and in light of Diana Eck’s definition and explication of religious pluralism, it analyzes IFYC’s methodology and programs in terms of whether they the foster personal religious commitment and engender the deeper theological dialogue that Heschel and Eck believe are necessary in interfaith work. …

Kenotic Effluent Panapotheism, Christopher E. Etter

Master of Arts in Religious Studies (M.A.R.S. Theses)

In these times of changing and evolving scientific discovery, philosophy and theology are at a critical juncture where they stand to lose all relevance if they are unable to keep up with the wealth of new knowledge and discoveries. Among the recent attempts in philosophy and theology to reconcile the relationship between science and these fields is Process Theology. Process Theology owes its origins to the 20th Century American philosopher Alfred North Whitehead. Whitehead and the philosophers and theologians he has influenced have developed a myriad of new theologies that all attempt to incorporate the new sciences, such as Quantum …

Obligations Of Grace, Mark E. Roberts

Empowered21 Global Network of Spirit-Empowered Scholars

Grace obliges recipients to respond in gratitude and obedience to God, the giver of grace. While the New Testament emphasizes God's grace given through Jesus Christ in a New Covenant with believers, the Old Testament emphasizes grace more than many Christians recognize. Grace is expressed in the Old Testament especially through God's free choosing of Abraham as the "father of the faithful," through divine covenants with Abraham, with the divinely constituted nation of Israel, and with the governing house of David. Such grace abounds when God's covenanted people fail to keep their covenant, yet God, after disciplining the covenant people …

Women, The Church And Equality: The Religious Paradox, Donna M. Nowak

History Theses

ABSTRACT OF THESIS

Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.[1]

Traditional religion and biblical interpretation helped to cement the passive role of women in the United States for hundreds of years. The emergence of spiritualism and communal societies, however, challenged the traditional role of women, and the very fabric of American …

Opium Eaters: Buddhism As Revolutionary Politics, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

There is no one, single answer to the question: What is or are ‘Buddhist politics’? Rather than seek general historical trends or broad tendencies, in this chapter I explore the meaning and implications of the modern, Western conception of ‘politics’ as understood in relation to key features of Buddhist doctrine. In particular, I pose the question of whether we might fruitfully conceive at least certain interpretations of Buddhism—or perhaps, of Dharma—as politics, rather than ‘religion’ or ‘philosophy.’ I argue that twentieth century progressive Buddhists Seno’o Girō (1889–1961) and B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) were not so much in conflict with …

The Supper That Supposedly Split The Reformation: The Eucharist Controversy Between Huldrych Zwingli And Martin Luther, Jacob A. Clayton

Tenor of Our Times

No abstract provided.

Jesus With A Kalashnikov: Examining Marxist Elements In Liberation Theology And Soviet Influence On Its Origins, Todd "Cameron" Swathwood Jr

Senior Honors Theses

Liberation theology emerged as a prominent feature of religion and politics in the 1960s. Since the beginning, detractors have noted the overtly Marxist tendencies within this ideology. This thesis introduces the core concepts and presuppositions of liberation theology itself, and then focuses on specific and varied allegations concerning any influence the Soviet Union may have had on its formation and propagation. Particular weight is lent to the testimony of Lieutenant General Ion Mihai Pacepa, formerly the head of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu’s national intelligence service and the highest-ranking defector ever received from the Soviet Bloc. Pacepa has shared his insider …

Breaking Free From Cults: A Guide For Pastors To Lead Individuals To A New Christian Identity, Brandon Waters

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The spiritual scars inflicted on individuals who severed relationships with religious cults or legalistic institutions are widespread. This research will show former cultist experienced spiritual, mental and physical abuse in the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). Through a survey of 150 former members of the WCG and thirty evangelical local pastors, this research will validate the need for support for those individuals seeking personal recovery and the formation of a new spiritual identity. This thesis project produced a manual to assist pastors in understanding the needs of former cultists, specifically in assisting them in developing a new spiritual identity.

Whitefield's Music: Moorfields Tabernacle, The Divine Musical Miscellany (1754), And The Fashioning Of Early Evangelical Sacred Song, Stephen A. Marini

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Evangelical hymnody was the most significant form of popular sacred song in eighteenth-century Anglo-America. John and Charles Wesley built their Methodist movement on it, but little is known about the music of their great collaborator and eventual rival, George Whitefield (1714-1770). The essential sources of Whitefield's music are the development of ritual song at his Moorfields Tabernacle in London, his Collection of Hymns for Social Worship (1753) prepared for that congregation, and a little-known tunebook called The Divine Musical Miscellany (1754) that contains the first and definitive repertory of music known to be sung at Moorfields. This essay recovers Whitefield's …

Crossing The Great Divide: Advocating For Cultural Intelligence In The Training Of Missionaries To Navigate The Missiological Implications Of Globalization, John Mitch Arbelaez

Doctor of Ministry

Globalization has brought about many missiological implications that directly affect missionaries serving in cross-cultural situations. Though globalization may appear to be bringing the world together, cultural differences and cultural diversity continue to persist causing more cultural conflicts as people from different backgrounds continue to collide with one another. Today’s missionaries need a trusted metacultural framework to rapidly adapt and contextualize the Gospel message into the multiplicity of cultural nuances swirling in the kaleidoscope that is globalization.

In Section One, missiological implications due to globalization such as cultural homogenization, hybridization, secularization, consumerism, McDonaldization, migration, and new religious movements, are discussed as …

Book Notices, Studia Antiqua

Studia Antiqua

No abstract provided.

The Role Of African Traditional Religion And 'Juju' In Human Trafficking: Implications For Anti-Trafficking, May Ikeora

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines the role that African Traditional Religion (ATR) plays in giving ammunition to human trafficking, a role that serves as an emerging perspective in the understanding and critical engagement with this subject area. Elements within African traditional religion, popularly and often wrongfully termed ‘Juju’, proffer a method of control often used by certain traffickers to keep their victims in perpetual bondage. The data used in this article was derived from extensive fieldwork in Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK) where forty-six (46) anti-trafficking stakeholders including victims were interviewed. The data indicates that this control mechanism was present in …