Digital Commons Network^™

Pentecostalism And Social, Political, And Economic Development, Allan H. Anderson

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article traces the global impact of Pentecostalism with reference to its definition, varieties, and statistics. It also discusses the subject of development from a theological perspective, considering how development applies to Pentecostalism. The first part considers the ambivalence involved in Pentecostal sociopolitical engagement, and then in the second part, discusses how Pentecostalism and development relate to each other. It gives examples throughout the article of how Pentecostals are involved in development projects and sociopolitical activities worldwide.

Toward An Anti-Racist Theology: American Racism And Catholic Social Thought, Douglas J. Cremer

LMU Theses and Dissertations

In the writings of the Vatican, the United States and Latin American bishops, and various theologians since the 1950s, Catholic social thought has generally failed to understand the pernicious depth of the system of racial classification, discrimination, and violence in the Americas. Catholic social thought still sees racism as based on the pre-existing, valid category of "race," requiring individual conversion and social effort. What is required instead is seeing the very concept of " race" as what must be rejected as the product of a racist ideology of politico-economic oppression and developing an anti-racist theological response that overcomes and eliminates …

Dynamics And Growth Prospects Of The Protestant Denominations In Ukraine, Irina Vasilyeva, Vita Tytarenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The intensity and nature of changes in Protestant communities in Ukraine is analyzed on the basis of broad empirical material (statistics, sociological surveys). The confessional specificity of the spread of Protestant communities in the Ukrainian territories is revealed, as well as their dynamics, geographical conditionality, and more. Changes in institutional, socio-political, cultural, and educational spheres of life of Protestant churches in modern Ukraine are recorded. Social legalization, the legal recognition of these movements as the churches and religious organizations equal to other traditional churches, as well as dynamism of Protestantism in evangelical and missionary sphere and public life, have contributed …

Written In Black, White, And Red: An Exploration Of Civilizer Theology In American History, Jeremy Mcginniss

Master's Theses

This paper proposes an extended definition and discusses examples of civilizer theology within the perceptions and practices of white Protestant American Christianity faith traditions. Civilizer theology is defined as a self-referential, self-fulfilling framework actively shaping the expectations, behaviors and practices of societal norms driving cultural practices. Examples are selected as guided by three significant and interdependent dispositions characterizing civilizer theology: cultural decay/moral decline, authority, and violence. This paper hypothesizes theological interpretation, application and exegesis, mediated by the three dispositions, are deliberately applied to support socio-economic, cultural and political ends with the goal of maintaining power structures benefiting a particular group.

Affirmation Mysticism: The Activist Theology Of Rufus Jones, Christy Randazzo

Quaker Religious Thought

In 1917, the American Friends Service Committee was formed as a unified effort across the Anglo-American Friends world to respond to the ravages of the First World War. Rufus Jones was only one, amongst many, who devoted significant time and attention to that effort. Jones was the person selected as the Committee’s first Chairman, however, and remained its Honorary Chairman until his death in 1948.1 Jones’s prominent status amongst Friends internationally both as a writer and a weighty Friend influenced this choice. While his academic work likely played a role in building his “weight” amongst Friends, much of it was …

"En El Poder Del Espíritu": A Qualitative Research Study On Social Ethics/Theology Among U.S. Latina/O Pentecostals, Néstor A. Gómez Morales

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Are most US Latina/o pentecostals concerned about sharing the gospel without having any interest in the reality of oppression, discrimination, and marginalization? Are they just dancing and singing in their temples, having ecstasies and emotional experiences while ignoring the poor and their social struggle? Many scholars see US Latina/o pentecostalism as a tradition with an anemic social ethic, one that lacks any significant interest in the needs of the poorest in society. However, new research on progressive pentecostals shows a different panorama. The theological perspectives and social ethics of a vast sector of US Latina/o churches have changed considerably since …

Another Ignatian History: Including Women In The Story Of Jesuit Mission, Julia A. Dowd

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Orientation programs at Jesuit universities often include a review of the life of Ignatius. What is missing from the official history of Ignatius are the stories of the women with whom he lived and worked who contributed financially, politically, and emotionally to Ignatius’ formation and that of the early Jesuits. What is also missing is a critical feminist analysis of the historical context out of which Ignatius, the Spiritual Exercises and the Society of Jesus were born. In this article, I argue that women provided essential scaffolding to bolster Ignatius’ identity and vocation, and likewise to contribute to the early …

And Their Eyes Were Opened: The Call To Paradox, Bruce L. Jacobson

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

A Message From Antioch And Moravia To The West, Barry Hudspeth

Masters Theses

This qualitative thesis study, “A Message From Antioch and Moravia to the West,” explores the North American Church’s role in the global missions arena and seeks to develop a streamlined strategy for engaging in cross-cultural evangelism in the twenty-first century. A qualitative case study of the first-century Christian church and Moravian church of the eighteenth century provides data on actions conducted to spread Christianity from a central geographical location outward to the known world in their respective eras of Christian history. These two case study analyses looked at how the Gospel was spread during each point in history followed by …

Galen’S Analogy: Animal Experimentation And Anatomy In The Second Century C.E., Annastasia Conner

Anthós

Galen of Pergamum (129 – ca. 216 C.E.) is truly one of the most pivotal characters in the history of medicine, and particularly the field of anatomy. A physician in the ancient Roman Empire, he did not allow his work to be constrained by contemporary boundaries, instead delving further into the field of anatomy and physiology than any doctor had yet done. He built upon the existing work of his predecessors as well as making new discoveries through which he would shape contemporary and future understandings of anatomy, and of medicine as a whole. Although a luminary in his field, …

When Politics Dominates Religion: A Theological Critique Of Televangelist Rod Parsley, Leigh Rogers

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay is a critique of the nationalism of the religious right, as it is personified by Rod Parsley, a televangelist based in Columbus, Ohio. Rogers claims that the election of George W. Bush, and the terrorist attacks of September 11th, have created an atmosphere in the United States that has bound religion to a partisan, nationalistic agenda. Rogers, fearing the impact of this mindset, offers a theological critique of Parsley and others with similar agendas. Rogers' critique is threefold, beginning with Parsley's polarized view of good and evil. By accepting American imperialism as an absolute good, anything that stands …

Providential Capitalism: Heavenly Intervention And The Atlantic’S Divine Economist, Ian F.P. Green

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Providential capitalism names the marriage of providential Christian values and market-oriented capitalist ideology in the post-revolutionary Atlantic through the mid nineteenth century. This is a process by which individuals permitted themselves to be used by a so-called “divine economist” at work in the Atlantic market economy. Backed by a slave market, capital transactions were rendered as often violent ecstatic individual and cultural experiences. Those experiences also formed the bases for national, racial, and classed identification and negotiation among the constellated communities of the Atlantic. With this in mind, writers like Benjamin Franklin, Olaudah Equiano, and Ukawsaw Gronniosaw presented market success …

Triplex Enim Eleemosyna Est, Cordis, Oris, Et Operis: Pope Innocent Iii’S Spiritual And Rhetorical Approach To Almsgiving, Thomas J. Maurer

Masters Theses

The Libellus de Eleemosyna is a short work by Pope Innocent III on the topic of almsgiving. Historians have used this "little book" to understand better Innocent‘s thoughts on the virtue. I have discovered, however, that the Libellus was not originally a "little book", but rather a sermon. In this thesis I attempt to describe and understand the Libellus not as a "libellus" but as the preached sermon: Date Eleemosynam. No other historian has approached the Libellus this way. In the first chapter I examine the previous short studies done on the Libellus, how contemporaries viewed Innocent as …

Catholic Social Thought And The Large Multinational Corporation, Gerald J. Russello

Journal of Catholic Legal Studies

No abstract provided.

Books Reviews, Zachariah S. Motts, David Bundy, Timothy J. Christian, Jeremy B. Griffin, Rabbi David J. Zucker, Shivraj K. Mahendra, Scott Donahue-Martens, Michael Tavey, Taylor S. Brown, Isaiah Allen, Benjamin J. Snyder, Garrett Best

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Perspectives Of Secular Counselors Regarding Christian Counseling Forgiveness Therapy, Tezonia Rushan Morgan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Forgiveness is a concept that is strongly rooted in Christianity. Forgiveness therapy was developed with Christian principles and has proven to be successful for Christian counselors. However, forgiveness has not been explored from the perceptions of secular counselors. Specifically, it is not known if secular counselors are using concepts that are similar to Christian forgiveness therapy. Using forgiveness therapy, this qualitative grounded theory study described the experiences, thoughts, and understanding of forgiveness from the views of secular counselors. Research questions addressed if secular mental counselors have a concept similar to forgiveness therapy as defined in the Christian counseling literature. Individual …

The War In Ukraine As A Test For The Global Christian Community: A Trail Of Solidarity, Freedom, And Peacekeeping, Mykhailo Cherenkov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

19th Century Gothic Inspiration: Investigating The Next Generation Of Poes, Alexandrea L. Horton

All Student Theses and Dissertations

The objective of my study is to examine specific works by Edgar Allan Poe that best emulate his literary obsession with insanity and the grotesque, arguing that these elements of his literature serve as the source of inspiration for many 20^th and 21^st century gothic literature writers. Two of Poe’s poems that will be analyzed and critiqued include, “The Sleeper” which was originally published in 1831 and “The Raven” published in 1845. There will also be two of Poe’s shorter fiction pieces that will be analyzed and critiqued, which include, “Berenice” published in 1835 and “The Black Cat” …

History, Historiography, Historicity, And The Hebrew Bible, Joshua J. Bodine

Studia Antiqua

No abstract provided.

Gutierrez And Marx: Christian Ethics From The Roots Of Marxism, Omar Montilla

Seminary Scholarship Symposium

The study of theology in the last century faced constant calls for relevance and connection with human struggles. Many responses thought to make theology more significant in relation to politics and ethics. Liberation theology is one of such responses focused on the social struggle of Central and South American countries, influencing also several countries and sectors of society around the world. The writings of Carl Marx became involved in many of the social movements in the twentieth century. It was used by liberation theology in their search for

relevance and understanding of the struggles of society. Marxist ideal is that …

The Myth Of A Secular Economy: Capitalism's Unarticulated Theology, Daniel F. Sebastian

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The discipline of modern economics has been categorized as based in mathematics and thus dealing only with facts. Religion, on the other hand, is considered one of the primary institutions in society that engenders different values. The stark separation between these two fields is typical of the modern fact-value distinction. The goal of this project is to provide, relying heavily upon Peter L. Berger, a detailed analysis of the value-laden social functions of religion and consider whether economics, specifically capitalism, also carries out these functions. The thesis blurs the lines between economics and religion by showing that capitalism engages in …

More Than A Pretty Face: Using Embodied Lutheran Theology To Evaluate Community-Building In Online Social Networks, Joel Oesch

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Oesch, Joel, C. "More than a Pretty Face: Using Embodied Lutheran Theology to Evaluate Community-building in Online Social Networks." Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2015. 264pp.

The human body holds a special place in Christian theology. Jesus gives of his body in the crucifixion and experiences bodily resurrection on Easter morning. The sacrament of Holy Communion is a common partaking in the actual body and blood of Christ. But what of the human body for the Christian, and of what import does this have for the broader community? The dissertation seeks to build on these facts and make a case for …

Posterity Or Prosperity? Critiquing And Refiguring Prosperity Theologies In An Ecological Age, A.J. Swoboda

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, prosperity theologies have simultaneously received a warm reception by some and a critical cold shoulder by others. With emotive responses provoked on both sides, what cannot be ignored is the influence prosperity thinking has, and will have, on the global church. Yet, little to no attention has been devoted to the intersection between prosperity theology and the issues surrounding the ecological crisis, such as climate change, environmental degradation, human greed, and wanton consumerism. Does such an intersection exist? This article explores this question by contrasting prosperity theology’s divine economy and agrarianism’s great economy. …

Eco-Glossolalia: Emerging Twenty-First Century Pentecostal And Charismatic Ecotheology, A.J. Swoboda

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

This study sets out first to chart developments in an emerging and growing body of research in the field of Pentecostal and Charismatic Ecotheology. This literature is grouped within three main trajectories characterized as Pentecostal and Charismatic Social Justice Theology, Pentecostal and Charismatic Spirit/ Creation Theology, and distinctively Pentecostal and Charismatic Ecotheology. Second, this study experiments with a possible pneumatological metaphor that can remedy the growing need for Pentecostal scholarship in the area of ecotheology: the Spirit baptized creation.

Kazakhstan: Religious Freedom Survey, March 2014, Mushfig Bayram, John Kinahan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of The Phases Of Indian Ecocriticism, Rayson K. Alex

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "A Survey of the Phases of Indian Ecocriticism" Rayson K. Alex places Indian ecocriticism in its historical context distinguishing it from the Western ecocritical canon by identifying and contextualizing three phases of ecocriticism in India. Looking at the present Indian ecocritical scenario, Alex compares and contrasts it with Western ecocritical studies. He offers a brief analysis of the themes of papers presented in conferences on ecocriticism in India and of the syllabi and teaching strategies adopted in various institutions of higher learning which have introduced ecocriticism as optional/mandatory courses to show the growth of ecocriticism in India. …

Sending Students: Addressing Barriers University Students Face In Going To The World As Missionaries, Shane Sebastian

Doctor of Ministry

"The Bible recounts how God has used people of all ages and backgrounds to advance His purposes. Many of the most remarkable events of the biblical story involved young people. It should not be surprising to find that in recent centuries, many of the greatest things God has done to fulfill the Great Commission have been done with university students." —David Howard

University students on campuses today will be leaders tomorrow. According to recent statistics, there are approximately 150 million college students in the world today, roughly 2% of the world’s population. Though this may be a small fraction of …

Christianity's Many Ways Of Salvation: Toward An Irrealistic Salvific Inclusivism, Mark Mcleod-Harrison

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Insurrectionary Heroines: The Possibilities And Limits Of Women’S Radical Action During The French Revolution, Sean M. Wright

Grand Valley Journal of History

The article titled, Insurrectionary Heroines: The Possibilities and Limits of Women’s Radical Action During the French Revolution, gathers research materials from multiple primary and secondary sources to generate an analysis of women’s participation in the French Revolution. The focus of this analysis draws on how these women confronted the Early Modern European female status quo through the use of radical action during the Revolution, which ultimately led to the creation of new possibilities for women's participation in society and revealed the limitations of this new found participation. Radical action is defined by four major events in the article: the female …

Golden Mouth, Empty Pockets: An Investigation Of The Motivations And Aims Behind John Chrysostom's Theology Of Wealth And Poverty, Matthew Ingalls

Seminary Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to master the field of scholarly discourse surrounding John Chrysostom's motivations and aims for his theology of wealth and poverty. The study takes care to situate Chrysostom in his social, political, and theological contexts. Then the paper sets out to examine ancient attitudes toward Chrysostom and his theology. Then a comprehensive description of modern Chrysostomic studies is attempted. These approaches are grouped into three broad categories. The first is the theistic factor category, which encompasses scholars who understand Chrysostom primarily from a theological standpoint. The second category is the social-scientific approach. Practitioners of this method seek to …