Digital Commons Network^™

A Darwinian Look At Atonement Theory, A. Rachel Ritchie

Dialogue & Nexus

After presenting various atonement theories, especially in light of evolutionary explanation, I conducted a brief survey among students to determine their level of theological understanding and scientific literacy. Based on this data, I conclude that students are given a poor education in theology. This paucity of wisdom needs to be mitigated. I offer some suggestions for rectifying this lacuna.

Religion And Violence In Jesse James Films, 1972–2010, Travis Warren Cooper

Journal of Religion & Film

This essay analyzes recent depictions of Jesse James in cinema, examining filmic portrayals of the figure between the years of 1972 and 2010. Working from the intersection of the anthropology of film and religious studies approaches to popular culture, the essay fills significant gaps in the study of James folklore. As no substantial examinations of the religious aspects of the James myths exist, I hone in on the legend’s religiosity as contested in filmic form. Films, including revisionist Westerns, are not unlike oral-history statements recorded and analyzed by anthropologists, folklorists, and ethnographers. Jesse James movies, in other words, have much …

The Evangelists' Editorial Efforts; Matthean And Lukan Theology Vis-A-Vis A Few, Unique Parables, Benjamin C. Joseph Mr.

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

As an early Church Father and apologist in the 2nd century, Irenaeus contributed greatly to discourse on Christian theology, scripture, and tradition. However Irenaeus could not have been further from the truth when he exclaimed, “The parables will receive a like interpretation from all!”1 Had his prediction proven to be true, perhaps there would not be much to say about the parables in the Christian Gospels. Yet a single, universally accepted interpretation of any one parable did not exist during Jesus’ earthly ministry, and certainly does not exist today. Why, then, does Jesus speak in parables? Why would a religious …

The First Thing Andrew Did' [John 1:41]: Readers As Witnesses In The Fourth Gospel, Mark L. Trump

Dissertations (1934 -)

In 1996, Robert F. Kysar identified one of the leading issues that would form scholarly debate regarding the Fourth Gospel for decades to come: whether the Fourth Gospel is designed to strengthen and affirm the faith of those inside a Johannine community (a sectarian document/community) or to bring to faith those who were not yet part of that community (an evangelistic tract/missionary community). The sectarian position, often connected to the work of J. Louis Martyn, Raymond E. Brown, and Wayne A. Meeks, has become the received tradition in Johannine studies. Increasingly, others have called into question not only the results …

The Two Goats: A Christian Yom Kippur Soteriology, Richard Barry

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation draws on recent historical-critical research into ancient Jewish temple theology, the priestly book of Leviticus, and especially the Yom Kippur liturgy of Leviticus 16, to develop a more paradoxical interpretation of Christ’s saving work for modern Christian systematic theology. Prompted by the pioneering research of Jacob Milgrom, there has been a surge in sympathetic interpretations of the priestly theological tradition, which has inspired fresh interpretations of the Levitical Day of Atonement. I argue that an adequate Christian theory of atonement must be attentive to both the overall “landscape” of Jewish biblical thought, and to the specific rhythm of …

Four Case Studies In Teaching Sermons At A Public University, Robert Ellison

English Faculty Research

In this paper, delivered at the March 2017 meeting of the Northeast Modern Language Association, I discuss my experience with teaching sermons at Marshall University, a public institution in Huntington, WV. I have done this in four classes over the past several years: “Good Essays” (a 200-level general-education course in the English Department); “God Talk” (another gen-ed course, team-taught with a faculty member in religious studies); “Sermon: Text and Performance” (a 400-level class in the Honors College); and “The Victorian Spoken Word” (a graduate seminar in English).

The audiences were very different, as were the texts we used (Newman, Spurgeon, …

Review Of Djurić'S "Biblijom I Kur’Anom Do Jednoga Boga Stvoritelja [With The Bible And The Qur’An To The One Creator God]", Adnan Silajdžić

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Of Politics And Theology: Reading Augustine In Light Of Augustine, Landon P. Wilcox

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Augustine’s The City of God is a foundational theological text for the development of Christian thought across time. Over the centuries, political scientists and theologians have been especially interested in this text in a variety of ways, but for the purposes of this discussion, the focus will be on Books I-V and Book XIX. Typically, theologians have been interested in Augustine’s rebuttal of pagan claims that are found in the first five books, while political scientists focus most of their attention on Book XIX for its discussion of the highest ends of the state through the means of politics in …

Understanding The Abrahamic Covenant Through The Book Of Mormon, Noel B. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

Interpretation of God's covenant to Abrahamic and its promised fulfillment varies across scholarly and religious writings. The Book of Mormon emphasizes this covenant and the promise that through Abraham all the kindreds of the earth will be blessed. It also features a unique interpretation--that the covenant will be fulfilled as the Book of Mormon itself, a record of the seed of Joseph, is given first to the Gentiles, and then to house of Israel.

Looking Back To Move Forward: Youth Ministry And Its Effect On The Faith And Christian Practices Of Today's Adults, Andrew A. Taylor

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This mixed methods explanatory research project investigated the effectiveness of youth ministry practices in shaping, or failing to shape, adult Christian faith. Fifty-nine former youth group members from three congregations were surveyed, and six were interviewed: two active Christians, two inactive Christians, and two non-Christians. Results revealed the active Christians had experienced a personal sense of God’s presence and witnessed God’s activity in the public sphere. This suggests that youth ministry would do well to utilize practices that encourage adolescents to experience and articulate a sense of God’s presence in both their personal lives and in the world around them.

Countertransference As Koinonia, Karin A. Craven

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This thesis inquires after the lived-through experience of community in the congregation by the pastoral leader. It is predicated upon the multiple self whose plurality is understood through psychoanalytical and postcolonial theories as well as by developmental processes illumined by interpersonal neurobiology. The phenomenological inquiry into one pastor’s experience of community in the congregation yielded in vivo themes – movement, joy, and open; connect, conflict, and centering; table, hospitality, love, and diversity -- that were understood broadly from the wondering perspective of desire. Closer theoretical analysis of these in vivo themes from theological, psychological, and interpersonal neurobiological conceptual categories was …

Faith And Politics: Rwanda, A Case History, Bob Rice

Papers

No abstract provided.

Teaching Missiology In And For World Christianity Content And Method, Peter C. Phan

Papers

No abstract provided.

Advent 2017, Gardner-Webb University

Advent Devotions

Annual Gardner-Webb University Advent devotional book from the year 2017 with contributions from various students, alumni, faculty, and staff members. Each page in the book represents a day of Advent and contains a scripture and short devotion. There are also spaces provided for prayer requests and advent reflection.

Teaching Christian Mission In An Age Of World Christianity:, Philip Wingeier-Rayo

Papers

No abstract provided.

Internal Renewal And Dissent In The Early Christian World, Sheila E. Mcginn

2017 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

A Tribute: Remembering John Punshon (1935-2017), Paul N. Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

Excerpt: "John Punshon has been one of the premier Quaker historians and spokespersons over the last four decades. With a quick wit and a twinkle in his eye, John inspired thousands with his teaching and ministries in Britain, America, and worldwide. John passed away on March 10th after a second battle with myeloma. He is survived by his wife Veronica, their children—Tom Punshon and Sophie Miller—and their grandchildren, Victoria and James Punshon and Tabitha and Esther Miller."

Foreword To The Itinerary Of The Prophet-King, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Among modern analyses of the origin and development of John’s Christology, the socio-religious analysis of Wayne A. Meeks advances one of the most compelling and suggestive theses in recent years, addressing the riddles pertaining to the puzzling presentation of Jesus as a prophet-king like Moses in John 6:14-15. Whereas the Logos motif of the Johannine Prologue and the Father-Son relationship in the Johannine narrative convey high-christological thrusts, his receptions as a rabbi, teacher, and prophet elsewhere in John’s story of Jesus are far more mundane and earth bound. While he is rejected in Judea for failing to live up to …

Shakers And Jerkers: Letters From The "Long Walk," 1805, Part I, Douglas L. Winiarski

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Reports of a bizarre new religious phenomenon made their way over the mountains from Tennessee during the summer and fall of 1804. For several years, readers in the eastern states had been eagerly consuming news of the Great Revival, the powerful succession of Presbyterian sacramental festivals and Methodist camp meetings that played a formative role in the development of the southern Bible Belt and the emergence of early American evangelicalism. Letters from the frontier frequently included vivid descriptions of the so-called “falling exercise,” in which the bodies of revival converts crumpled to the ground during powerful sermon performances on the …

Family Resilience In Displacement: Defining Validity And Reliability In A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Inquiry, Regine Rimarzik

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"The voices of the poor confirmed a common recommendation among scholars to combine the best of person-focused approaches with the best of variable-focused approaches in resilience studies. This could be especially beneficial for comparative studies in terms of religion and culture adherence. In other words, I am considering to slightly tweak my research topic and widen the scope towards a comparative religious study within the same environment and to specify the impact of comparative faith traditions on the human development context in displacement. Finally, my better understanding of the nature of family resilience awakened my curiosity for discovering the nature …

Exploring Vocation: Early Career Perspectives On Vocation In Action, Alisha Pomazon, Sarah Knudson

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

As tenure-track professors at a Catholic liberal arts college, we began our academic careers four years ago with a strong desire to excel in our research and teaching. Most importantly, however, we hoped to come to a deeper understanding of how we might imbue our work in a Christian higher education context with a strong sense of purpose and connection to our beliefs. This reflection details our experience of co-developing a sense of vocation and sacramentality in ourselves and our students during the busy pre-tenure years. We discuss how religious and scholarly texts, workshop and retreat experiences, and course design …

Book Review: Comparing Faithfully: Insights For Systematic Theological Reflection, Stephanie Corigliano

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of Comparing Faithfully: Insights for Systematic Theological Reflection. Edited by Michelle Voss Roberts, Bronx, New York: Fordham University Press, 2016, 304 pages.

Yoga, Christians Practicing Yoga, And God: On Theological Compatibility, Or Is There A Better Question?, Andrea R. Jain

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Houston is a wildly diverse city; nonetheless it should come as no surprise that the Houston Chronicle “Belief” section frequently features stories about church expansions or declines, pastoral developments, and other reports on Christian communities. Christians, after all, make up over 70% of the city’s population. A provocative cover of a 2011 Belief section, however, shed light on a very different face of religion in Houston. The cover featured an image of local yoga teacher and entrepreneur Jennifer Buergermeister donning fashionable yoga attire and in the posture of a South Asian goddess, complete (thanks to clever photography) with six arms. …

Book Review: Absent Mother God Of The West: A Kali Lover’S Journey Into Christianity And Judaism, Holly Hillgardner

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of Absent Mother God of the West: A Kali Lover’s Journey into Christianity and Judaism. By Neela Bhattacharya Saxena. London: Lexington Books, 2016. ix + 208 pages.

Book Review: Vernacular Catholicism, Vernacular Saints: Selva J. Raj On “Being Catholic The Tamil Way”, James Ponniah

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of Vernacular Catholicism, Vernacular Saints: Selva J. Raj on “Being Catholic the Tamil Way.” Edited by Reid B. Locklin. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2017, xvii + 290 pages.

Book Review: Ritual Participation And Interreligious Dialogue: Boundaries, Transgressions And Innovations, Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of Ritual Participation and Interreligious Dialogue: Boundaries, Transgressions and Innovations. Edited by Marianne Moyaert and Joris Geldhof. London and New York: Bloomsbury, 2015. ix + 262 pages.

Book Review: The Future Of Hindu-Christian Studies: A Theological Inquiry, Arvind Sharma

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Book review of The Future of Hindu-Christian Studies: A Theological Inquiry. By Francis X. Clooney, S.J. London and New York: Routledge, 2017, xi + 135 pages.

(Re)Mediating The Spirit: Evangelical Christian Young Adult Media, Tamara Watkins

Theses and Dissertations

"We are in the world, but not of the world," a maxim frequently spoken in evangelical Christian culture, provides insight into how these individuals view their relationship with secular culture. They presume to share the same temporal plane with secular culture, but do not participate in it. In this dissertation, I explore whether the division between evangelical Christian culture and secular culture is as clear as this aphorism implies. To facilitate this investigation, I examine media Christian content creators created for an American evangelical Christian young adult audience in the early twenty-first century, specifically focusing on novel-length fiction, comics and …

Fourth World Conference On Dialogue Among Religions And Civilizations In Macedonia 2016, Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Kazakhstan: Is Sharing Faith A State Security Issue?, Felix Corley

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.