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The Six Ps: A Faith Journey, Deborah Keizer

Masters Theses

The Six Ps is an epistolary memoir about a faith journey to find my twin flame and purpose. The journey began when I discovered my higher self in a guided meditation. After that incident, I received my first prophetic dream message. God also gave me the directive to write, using the Ps (plots) from Joseph of Genesis: Prophetic dreams, Pit, Potiphar’s wife, Prison, Palace – No Pharaoh, Purpose. After the first Prophetic dream I was guided to return to my homeland, and so I jumped into the Pit which I also call the Abyss – (to confront the false beliefs …

The Loaves Of The Tree Of Life: A Historical And Biblical Analysis Of The Origins And Purpose Of The Bread Of The Presence Within The Torah, J. Christian Doling

Masters Theses

The bread of the Presence refers to the twelve loaves of bread which were laid in the presence of God every Sabbath and consumed by the Israelite priesthood as part of the cultic rituals. The wheat for the bread was presented as part of Israel's first fruits offering during the Feast of Weeks, where Israel also presented an elevation offering of bread, a ritual bread with many similarities to the bread of the Presence. Once a week (according to Leviticus) the priests would collect some of this wheat to bake into twelve loaves of bread which were then placed in …

Cultivating Multicultural Christian Youth Ministry Team Leaders Through Covenant Relationships With Youth In Kc And Stl Metro Area Churches, Christopher D. Edin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

One significant challenge for today’s Christian churches involves bridging the gap between youth involvement in church after high school graduation and moving on to college (Owens, 2014). Owens (2014) asserts that today’s adolescents experience parental and church support during high school, but once they head off to college, they leave that support and stability at home. Students leave the church for many reasons. This study proposes that one significant reason is that Christian churches do not educate youth ministry team leaders on multiculturalism. This research explored satisfactory multicultural competencies necessary for youth ministry leaders to disciple youth by asking adult …

Prophetic Theology: The Essence Of Prophecy, Charmain M. Jarrett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this action research project is to equip the members of Jesus Strong Ministries to discern the authenticity of contemporary prophetic messages. This research project aimed to measure the effectiveness of teaching the members of Jesus Strong Ministries the purpose or essence of true prophecy, focusing on discerning and interpreting prophetic messages. To accomplish this, the researcher developed and taught thirty-two participants an eight-week virtual prophetic training course via Zoom. The course examined eight vital elements of prophecy: the definition of prophecy, types of prophets, history of prophecy, relevance or purpose of prophecy, dimensions of prophecy, Spirit of …

Understanding The Characteristics Of The Artistic Temperament In A Local Church Through The Eyes Of The Choir Members And The Lens Of Scripture: A Case Study, Deborah A. Mcilrath

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Madness has long been associated with musical geniuses, known as temperamental musicians with uncomfortable mood swings that often border on manic depressive episodes. Secular studies show parallels between musicians with an artistic temperament (AT) and bipolar/manic depressive disorders. Many church choir members and church leaders expect church music directors to be more expressive, but if negative characteristics associated with an artistic temperament (AT) emerge during rehearsals, such as anger or moodiness, conflict is inevitable. This is a phenomenological qualitative study of the characteristics associated with AT in a local church through the lens of Scripture. The purpose of this research …

Review Of The Return Of The Kingdom: A Biblical Theology Of God’S Reign By Stephen G. Dempster., Abigail Hamilton

Liberty Theological Review

Dempster, Stephen G. The Return of the Kingdom: A Biblical Theology of God’s Reign. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2023. 213 pages. $19.59. ISBN-13: 978-0830842919.

The Use Of Space And Place In The Civil Rights Discourse Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Pamelia Adams

Communication Theses

This thesis, The Use of Space and Place in the Civil Rights Discourse of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., analyzes the academic literature on the social change agent. The study provides a deeper understanding of the relevance of place/location, where Dr. King delivered his civil rights message nationally and internationally. Three historically significant sites and the events impacting the civil rights movement, in the cities of Washington, D.C. and Birmingham, Alabama, are examined. The three sites included in Chapter 2: The Jail Site, Chapter 3: The Bombing Site, and Chapter 4: The March Sites as examples. The main findings of …

Made In The Divine Image: The Interface Of Boki Concepts And Pontifical Biblical Commission's Reading Of Genesis 1-2, Luther Raymond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Certain images facilitate tailoring our perception of ourselves and the rest of creation in positively practical ways, but others lead us astray and disfigure our relationships. Christians acknowledge that humans are made in the divine image, yet we allow the domineering presence of destructive frames and perceptions to counter our being divine image-bearers. This dissertation explores the intersection of the Boki Beri-be/Keredede motif and the language of the presentation of Genesis 1-2 in the 2019 Pontifical Biblical Commission Document What Is Man? calling for a recognition that humans are the embodiment of the divine presence in creation with a calling …

Modern-Day Idol Worship At Life Changers Church: How It Was Identified And Replaced With True Worship Of God, Franzetta L. Ivy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This DMIN project ventures to establish and further a ministry design rooted in God’s Word that instructs, equips, and enhances Christian lives. The project offers a structure by which God’s Word can renew and transform people’s minds. The ten-week project intervention utilized a weekly Bible class, interviews, questionnaires, and observations to collect information from seven participants at Life Changers Church. The purpose was to examine the problem of modern-day idol worship and foster motivation, commitment, and reverence for God by applying spiritual awareness through teaching from an intentionally designed worship handbook. This action-based research project endeavored to link the application …

Middles And Centers In Chinese Translations Of Tolkien, Eric Reinders

Mythcon

How do Chinese translators of Tolkien translate the name “Middle-earth” without confusing it with China itself (Zhongguo, or “central kingdom”)? China is a nation which named itself the center of the world, and centrality is never a neutral or apolitical claim. “Middle/central kingdom” signifies a traditional conception of geopolitical power in concentric rings: from emperor, to capital city, to zones nearer to or further from the capital. This paper borrows from the tradition within Religious Studies of theorizing claims to centrality (Eliade, J. Z. Smith) and centrality in Chinese political symbolism (Meyer, Wheatley, Wu Hung, Walsh). Here I primarily consider …

“Not Like Your Abuelos”: A (Fe)Minist/Autoethnographic Approach To Vernacular Religious Belief And Traditionalization, Ciara Bernal

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis I explore how vernacular Mexican Catholicism is practiced, explained, and passed down within my family. I look at vernacular religious belief and traditionalization as an integrated process that impacts the practices, beliefs, and stories of my family. I include myself as a subject of this research, conducting autoethnography within each chapter. I utilize reflexive and vulnerable writing practices to accomplish this.

My overarching research questions for this thesis are: How has Mexican-Catholicism shaped the relationships, stories, and beliefs of my family members? What can Chicana feminist perspectives add to the study of vernacular religious belief and family …

Youth Engagement In Religious Practices Within Macedonian Society, Ruzica Cacanoska, Ivan Blazevski Phd

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Official statistical data and various research studies indicate that a significant portion of the Macedonian population identifies as religious. However, these studies also reveal that many of these individuals are nominal believers, adhering to traditional practices without deep engagement. This trend has sparked an interest in exploring the religiosity of the younger generation, which, though often superficial, has gained prominence in recent years. Existing research, albeit limited, has examined young people's religiosity, their perceptions of religion, and the influence of religious values on their daily lives and practices. To gain a comprehensive understanding of young people's attitudes towards religion in …

On The Varieties Of Religious Experience In Latter-Day Saint Temples, 1836–1940, Jared Gage Bennett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

From 1836 to the present, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have constructed and undertaken rituals in buildings called temples. In the first temple in Kirtland, Ohio, its 1836 dedication was the scene of visions and speaking in tongues, much like those the apostles had at Pentecost in Acts 2. The second temple in Nauvoo, however, had none of these, and the third set of temples built in Utah, with the first completed in 1877, again saw a number of religious experiences but of a radically different form: mainly the appearance of the spirits of …

Catholic Traditionalism In Poland: Some Current Trends, Tomasz Dekert, Oleh Sokolovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article reviews the issues related to the contemporary Catholic traditionalist movement, with a focus on its Polish branch and noticeable trends within it. Traditionalism emerged in the second half of the 20th century in reaction to the transformative processes within Catholicism associated with the Second Vatican Council. A comprehensive reform of Catholic liturgy, conducted between 1964 and 1975, played a particularly significant role in its spread. In Poland, it became noticeable only after the regime change in 1989, both in the form defined by the Apostolic See’s indults of the 1980s and in a more radical form associated with …

The Role Of Salimah Mass Organization In Build The Family Resilience (Case Study In Cimanggis Sub-District, West Java, 2019-2022), Izzah Asy Syahidah, Basuni Imamuddin

International Review of Humanities Studies

Weak family resilience can cause various problems for family or society. Ideally, building family resilience is also needed society support. It will be more efficient if there is a place where people work together, such as a mass organization. One of the organizations that has contributed in building family resilience is Salimah (Muslimah Association). It is a mass organization of Indonesian Muslim women that focuses on providing solutions to improve the quality of women, children, and families. Salimah has many programs aimed at building family resilience. This study aims to examine Salimah’s role in building family resilience in Cimanggis sub-district, …

The Preeminent Biblical Role Of The Father: A Qualitative Action Research Project, Frank Wilhelm Heilmeier

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Fathers have a biblical role to teach their children commandments, statutes, judgments, and God's Law. The father's duty to teach his children should be handed down from generation to generation. The assumption is that fathers do not teach their children as God commanded. When fathers do not teach their children, they risk becoming an absentee father which leads to fatherlessness, ultimately ending in a broken home. To address this issue and offset this risk, a qualitative action research project was conducted. This intervention implemented two small group training sessions for fathers with children ages six and under. The sessions were …

The Rediscovery Of America: Native Peoples And The Unmaking Of Us History, John P. Bowes

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Sing Sing, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Sing Sing (2023), directed by Greg Kwedar.

Review Of L. Ann Jervis' Paul And Time: Life In The Temporality Of Christ, Caleb Gordon

Liberty Theological Review

This review of Paul and Time offers a summary and critique of Dr. Jervis’ thought-provoking contribution to Pauline Studies concerning an alternative temporal approach to the undisputed Paul in place of the Jewish apocalyptic “two age” framework. This scholarly work is a necessary read for serious Pauline scholars and advanced students in New Testament scholarship.

From “Defilement” To “Modernity”: How Japan's Encounter With The West Brought Beef To The Table, Ying Yi Tan

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

The long Tokugawa – Meiji transition (1850s – 1880s) is arguably one of the most profound socio-economic transitions that Japan underwent in its history. This paper uses beef consumption in Japan as a lens to further investigate the players involved in this transition. Historically more eschewed than other types of meat and tightly associated with the notion of the “other,” beef became an embodiment of progress and modernity during the Meiji Period. Through tracing the historical shift in the Japanese perception of beef, this paper argues that the evolution of beef consumption corresponds to the radically shifting attitudes of the …

An Analysis Of Akira Yuyama's Piano Works For Children, Xiaoya (Sisi) Gao

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes Akira Yuyama’s piano collections and method for children published before 2000. Akira Yuyama was born in Hiratsuka, Japan on September 9th, 1932 and spent his childhood during World War II. At the age of 23, Yuyama graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and won first prize in the 9th Japan Music Competition for his Sonatine for Violin and Piano. He also won the Grand Prize at the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival. As a prolific composer, Yuyama composed pieces that became internationally known including works for various instruments, such as piano, vocal, …

Of Light And Shadows: Buddhism, Cinema, And The Question Of Diffused Religion In Modern China, Teng-Kuan Ng

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

While the scholarship on premodern Chinese Buddhism has explored the tradition’s rich diffusion throughout various realms of sociocultural life, the study of modern Chinese Buddhism leans heavily towards its monastic, institutional, and overtly “religious” forms. This split mirrors the logic of modern secularization, whereby religion should be rationally differentiated from the broader social fabric, institutionalized, and delimited within its own discrete functional sphere. This article rethinks the putative rupture between Chinese Buddhism’s past and present incarnations. Through the prism of cinema, a technology that arrived on Chinese shores at the same moment as the Western concept of religion, I illuminate …

Front Matter, Naya Sucha-Xaya

Journal of Letters

No abstract provided.

The Space Between Procedural And Situated Ethics: Reflecting On The Use Of Existing Materials In Design Research On Children Affected By Stroke, Pleuntje Jellema, Piet Tutenel, Birgit Moser, Anne-Sophie Schoss, Maja Kevdzija, Andrea Jelić, Ann Heylighen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Conducting design research in hard-to-enter care environments with children affected by stroke poses important ethical questions. Research focuses on procedural ethics or on situated ethics, emphasizing a hard-cut between research practices be-fore and during fieldwork. This paper explores this duality through an investigation of publicly available existing materials (i.e., biographies and YouTube videos). What was intended as a preparatory step before ‘entering the field’ becomes the primary way to better understand the role of the built environment in everyday lives of families affected by childhood stroke. In this paper we reflect on the shared space the investigation creates within a …

Christotechtonics: Dildonic Prostheticity In Theological Formulation, Evan Taylor Marsolek

Dissertations

This dissertation asserts the following claim: Christ is a dildo. This project brings Paul B. Preciado into conversations with contemporary philosophies of religion and interrogates a hegemonic Christian theological political matrix. This project articulates a hermeneutic of christotechtonics, which studies appearance, formation, and utilization of Christ. This project is twofold. It begins with a transdisciplinary exploration that entangles queer and trans theories, religious studies, secular studies, and philosophy of religion to position reading queer and trans theories as forms of counter political theologies. The work then transitions into dildonic prostheticity in theological formulation. The 2019 Vatican document “Male and Female …

Evangelicals As Zionists And Peacemakers In Arab And Israeli Peacemaking Through Track Ii Diplomacy, Johnnie Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study contributes to the literature at the intersection of religion and foreign policy by focusing on one of the modern era's most protracted and relevant foreign policy issues (the conflict between Israelis and Arabs), the influence of one of America’s most powerful religious constituencies (evangelicals), and one of the most widely used tools of non- governmental diplomacy (Track II diplomacy). It provides original research related to the relevancy of Track II diplomacy by evangelicals, specifically pro-Israel or “Zionist” evangelicals, in Israeli and Arab peacemaking. The study analyzes three relevant case studies to answer the research question: “How are …

Saint Brigit And Her Habits: Exploring Queerness In Early Medieval Ireland, Jacqueline K. Stephenson

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Saint Brigit's behavior and reception by society highlight an avenue by which women in the early medieval period could escape societal strictures, exercising agency over their bodies and their romantic choices, and carve out a distinct and unexpected place for themselves in a Christian patriarchal society. In Saint Brigit’s case, this is especially demonstrated by the breadth of her portrayed power as not just a nun but a saint, her extreme resistance to marriage, and her frequent comparisons to men. Indeed, her hagiography, written by Cogitosus in the seventh century, positioned her as one of the three principal and earliest …

New Paths In Jewish And Religious Studies: Essays In Honor Of Professor Elliot R. Wolfson, Glenn Dynner, Susannah Heschel, Shaul Magid

Purdue University Press Books

The work of Elliot R. Wolfson has profoundly influenced the fields of Jewish studies as well as philosophy and religion more broadly. His radically new approaches have created pioneering ways of analyzing texts and thinking about religion through the lens of gender, sexuality, and feminist theory. The contributors to New Paths in Jewish and Religious Studies: Essays in Honor of Professor Elliot R. Wolfson, many of whom are internationally renowned scholars, hearken from diverse fields. Each has learned from and collaborated with Wolfson as student or colleague, and each has expanded the new scholarly directions initiated by Wolfson’s groundbreaking …

Faith And Clutter: A Christian Perspective To Understand, Treat, And Prevent Hoarding Disorder, Mary Katherine Flage

NEXUS: The Liberty Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

No abstract provided.

The Fate Of Baghdad’S Books And Libraries During The Mongol Invasion 656 Ah/1258 Ad. Historical Study, Samah Habib Hussein

Uruk Journal of Human Sciences

In the last Abbasid era, Baghdad witnessed great development in the scientific and cultural aspect. Those in charge of it began establishing many public and private libraries until their covers became filled with thousands of works from various sciences and knowledge in language, literature, medicine, philosophy, sciences, religious studies...etc.