Digital Commons Network^™

Religious Security: Its Essence And Main Factors (Ukrainian Context), Olena Predko, Denys Predko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Religious security is the protection of the religious space from internal and external threats, which is a particularly important issue in Ukraine today. In the premodern era, the idea of security was formed, which ensured, on the one hand, the development of a certain system of practices as auxiliary factors of neutralizing fear, insecurity, etc., and on the other hand, contributed to strengthening the protective function of various gods and forces as a means of preserving human integrity. In contrast, in the Christian worldview, chain interdependence is built between the concepts of “prayer,” “religious faith,” and “religious freedom,” the totality …

Harvest Workers Ministry: Creating Passionate Life-Long Disciples By Nurturing Faith Development And Individual Callings Of Adolescents, Sam Wolowski

Christian Ministries Senior Capstone

“6 out of 10 twentysomethings who were involved in church during their teen years will fail to maintain their active spirituality during their years of adulthood” (Robbins 17). Even the majority of adolescents involved in the church eventually separate from their faith and faith community. David Kinnaman, the president of Barna Group, explains that more than 50 percent of teenagers and young adults who are not committed Christians report that their former faith community (e.g., church, parish, etc.) did not help them understand their purpose and view their gifts and passions as part of God’s calling (159). The separation of …

Evangelship: Mobilizing A Culture Of Discipleship That Leads To Evangelism In A Multiethnic Latino Context, Lawrence D. Perez

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Discipleship and evangelism in America today are eroding. Where traditionally the church sees discipleship and evangelism as separate entities, this research project argues for the unification of the two. This project explores “Evangelship,” the uniting of evangelism and discipleship, to see if the combined approach and perspective could offer a better way to engage the North American population. The driving question for this project is “Can the integration of evangelism and discipleship create a culture that accelerates and advances the Great Commission at U-Turn Covenant Church (U-Turn)?” To answer this question, the study aims to establish a discipleship framework that …

Editor's Introduction, Marc R. Loustau Ph.D.

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction by Managing Editor Marc Roscoe Loustau to Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism in the Age of Pope Francis

The Crucifixion And Death Of Jesus In The Qur'an And Islamic Scholarship: The "Swoon Theory" And The Medical Perspective, Emmanuel K. Asante

Masters Theses

The crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ is a profound event that holds immense theological significance within Christianity. However, the Islamic perspective as presented in the Qur'an, offers a distinct portrayal of this event, giving rise to an argument known as the Swoon Theory. This theory suggests that Jesus did not die on the cross but instead survived the crucifixion, prompting various interpretations and implications. This thesis aims to explore the depiction of the crucifixion and death of Jesus in the Qur'an, focusing specifically on the swoon theory and its relationship with the medical perspective. By examining relevant Qur'anic verses …

The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence In Online Education For Recruitment, Retention, And Sustainability Of Religious Organizations, Gordon Vaill Barrows

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explored the applicability of AI chatbot technology in the context of a church environment where it was used to promote an accessible and engaging online learning platform for education and ministry training. The primary objective was to develop an AI-powered chatbot to increase recruitment, improve retention, as well as support organizational sustainability as it relates to church membership. The research includes a comprehensive literature review on AI chatbot technology and its relevance to online education within the context of a religious organization. The literature review establishes the fundamentals for a theoretical framework, exploring the association between educational technology, …

Preparing The Next Generation For Faith Ownership By Training Fathers In The Biblical Worldview, John D. Embrey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Several modern factors increase families’ difficulty training children in the Christian faith. Time commitments outside the home have increased, and a decline in faith practice has made parents less comfortable and confident with knowledge of the Christian faith. These factors fueled an increase in teenagers leaving the Christian faith as they moved into adulthood and a decline in the number of adults with a biblical worldview. The underlying assumption of this DMIN project is that if fathers are trained with a biblical worldview and mentoring skills, they will become more comfortable and prepared to share their faith with their children …

Honors Seminar: "Religion And The Sermon In Appalachia", Robert Ellison

English Faculty Research

This presentation is kind of a sequel/follow-up to one I gave seven years ago in Baltimore, entitled “Four Case Studies in Teaching Sermons at a Public University.” I discussed

a gen-ed ENG class, a gen-ed class cross-listed with ENG & RST, a graduate seminar, and a class in the Honors College. The first three were one-offs, but the Honors class has lived on. I taught it again, in much the same form, the semester after that presentation, and again this past semester. The title was now “Religion and the Sermon in Appalachia” (for purposes of the online schedule, it had …

Review Essay: Mitri Raheb On Christian Zionism, Loren D. Lybarger

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: Receiving Pope Francis’S Condemnation Of Nuclear Weapons, William J. Collinge

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Some Aspects Of The Theology Of The City In Ane Literature And Biblical Protology And Eschatology: A Comparative Study, Vlatko Dir

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The city is an essential accomplishment that is embedded in the foundations of human civilization. From its mature appearance in Sumer and its developed forms throughout the ANE world, the city held a high place in cosmology, cosmogony, and anthropogony. The ideology and theology of the city created by the ANE peoples were built around and presented through the interplay of the triangle of influences and dependencies formed by the city, the temple, and kingship in conjunction with the gods. The question is whether the same construct is ingeminated in the Bible. This dissertation strives to provide an appropriate context …

Krazy House, Christopher R. Deacy

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Krazy House (2023), directed by Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil.

Exhibiting Forgiveness, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Exhibiting Forgiveness (2024), directed by Titus Kaphar.

Review Of Dr. Beth Felker Jones’ Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction To Thinking And Living Theologically, Caleb Gordon

Liberty Theological Review

This review of Practicing Christian Doctrine provides a helpful overview of Dr. Jones’ articulate survey through major Christian doctrines and related Christian practice. This resource serves as a succinct, formative primer to Christian theology with an aim at orthopraxy for the maturing Christian.

An Appeal To Mystery Without "Punting": Revisiting Molinism’S Biblical Problem In Light Of Ephesians 1:4–11 And Romans 11:33–36, Jeffrey S. Kennedy

Liberty Theological Review

Molinists maintain that middle knowledge is the best candidate for settling the historical debate on God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. The philosophical sophistication of the view can be alluring, and the efforts of Molinists to rationally defend it against criticisms have been impressive. But does Molinism still have a biblical problem? Proponents argue that the doctrine is compatible with the Bible's teaching on God's knowledge of counterfactuals, though admittedly, it is not explicitly taught in Scripture. But this claim is more problematic than advocates for the theory have alleged. The present study maintains that in the absence of a …

Dieleman Digs Into History Of Dutch Religious Life, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Logos-Sophia, Elliott Norman, Donald Wayne Viney, Keith Elliott Perkins, Addyson Kay Campbell, Hunter Hinds, Scott Squires

LOGOS-SOPHIA: The Journal of the PSU Philosophical Society

Logos-Sophia, Volume 17, Spring 2024. The Journal of the Pittsburg State University Philosophical Society has largely been a student publication with occasional faculty contribution

Sexuality And Service: The Intersectionality To The Black Church Serving The Lbgtqia+ Community, Kwaun Felton

Doctor of Ministry

v ABSTRACT The term “Black Church” may seem old and outdated, however during the civil unrest in the 1960 were racial divide between European Americans and African American threatened the economic stability and existence of a country. The phrase black church represented hope in a heavenly change to come for people of color. In the discussion Sexuality and Service, the intersectionality to ministering to the LBGTQIA+ community you will discover how the black church can better serve a community of diverse sexualities in the manner Christ intended for the institution called black church was designed to service all people seeking …

Papers Of Walter Sawatsky Arc2024-007 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

The Papers of Walter Sawatsky offer a rich and expansive archival collection that documents the development of Christian mission, theological education, and ecumenical engagement across Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and global contexts from the mid-20th century to the early 21st century. The collection provides extensive primary source material on the religious, political, and institutional transitions that shaped global Christianity during and after the Cold War.

Comprising over 200 folders of material, the collection includes international correspondence, subject files, reports, literary manuscripts, and financial records. Key themes represented throughout include post-Soviet religious transformation, Orthodox-Protestant relations, global missiology, and the …

Symposium: From Coming Out To Coming In: Roundtable Conversation Among Southeast Asian Queer Theologians, Michael Sepidoza Campos, Jayeel Cornelio, Erich Von Marthin Elraphoma, Joseph N. Goh, Jerlo M. Jaropillo, Joshua Marasigan, Kristine C. Meneses, Irene Nainggolan, Kakay Pamarán, Lizette Tapia, Amadeo Devin Udampoh, Wan Wei-Hsien

Development Studies Faculty Publications

Through a roundtable conversation via Zoom, teachers, pastors, and graduate students discussed the place of gender, citizenship, and faith in their identity formation and social accountability to articulate a hermeneutical lens specific to Southeast Asian contexts that shape and critique queer identities. These participants—primarily ministers, theological students, and seminary formators—engaged in organic, fluid, and multifocal turns to capture experiences that undergird the realities of women and LGBTQIQ+ people of faith in the region.

The Estonian And Latvian Orthodox Churches Of The Moscow Patriarchate Before And After The Russian War In Ukraine, Priit Rohtmets, Valdis Teraudkalns

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

From the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine the Baltic Orthodox churches subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) have gone through considerable changes in their canonical status, but have also stood out with controversial public statements about the war.

In this article we analyse how the Orthodox churches of the Moscow Patriarchate have reacted to the Russian war in Ukraine and what have been the major canonical changes in Latvia and Lithuania. Additionally, we describe the most important narratives, which the churches have used when speaking about the ongoing war and pay attention to the reaction, which these …

Digital Devotion: Marian Shrines Online, Kayla Harris

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

Using the online components of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, including the website and social media channels, this chapter explores how Marian shrines are occupying digital and e-spaces. This chapter describes these spaces, analyzes the relationship between digital and in-person shrines, and considers how virtual shrines have blurred the line between devotional practice and entertainment. E-shrines raise important questions about the overlap between digital and physical spaces within Catholic practice. Attuned to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this chapter argues that digital devotion has become an increasingly important practice that has pushed Marian shrines …

The Kingdom Of God In Selected Christian Living Education Modules Viewed Through Jesus Of Nazareth’S Vision Of The Reign Of God, Romela D. Sanga, Ferdinand D. Dagmang

Theology Department Faculty Publications

This article offers a study of Jesus’ Vision of the Reign of God as a foundation for the Christian Living Education Modules. Jesus of Nazareth’s ministry during the Roman Empire’s rule should be part of existing modules on God’s Kingdom as this would clarify the context of discipleship and ministry. Jesus, who lived and proclaimed God’s ruling presence, will be better understood and also grasped as a model if he is examined through historically-grounded studies, especially those written by Richard Horsley and other authors who are identified with the ‘Christology from below’ approach. Horsley’s scholarly studies could assist in a …

Leadership And Emergent Faith Communities In Canada: A Phenomenological Study, Anne Anderson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study is to explore how participants within emergent faith communities in Canada experience leadership. Through a phenomenological approach, members from five emergent faith communities across Canada have been interviewed in a semi-structured format. Emerging themes of transformational leadership, community along with belonging, and possible future areas of research will be discussed.

Latina Mothering As Diaspora Mission : The Role Of Latina Immigrant Mothers In The Religious Identity Formation Of The Next Generation, Rebekah R.S. Clapp

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Emulating Jonah : Intertextual Portrayal Of The Disciples In Mark 4:35-8:21, Donghyun Kang

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Orthodoxy In Ukraine: Strategies Of Reconciliation, Tetiana Havryliuk, Yuriy Chornomorets, Vasyl Lozovytskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the inter-Orthodox conflict in Ukraine in the context of the search for ways of reconciliation. The path to reconciliation is shown to be a fundamental Christian principle capable of overcoming serious reasons for enmity and hatred, as has been repeatedly demonstrated in history. The potential of the concept of "open Orthodoxy" in the formation of a new culture of inter-Christian dialogue and coexistence is revealed, the implementation of which can ensure Ukraine not only the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, but also the unity of the Ukrainian people. The role of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious …

Why I Say "Merry Christmas": A Dei Perspective, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

"A few weeks ago, Dr. Daniele Struppa, our Chapman University President approached me with a cultural protocol question regarding sending holiday cards to his international collaborators oversees. Dr. Struppa who currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the American University of Sharjah has become professionally and personally acquainted with some members of the Royal family of the United Arab Emirates, some Social Entrepreneurs, Businessmen, Professors, Scholars and others through this academic engagement. Dr. Struppa was wondering whether or not it is appropriate to send a Chapman University Christmas Card during the Holidays even though December is technically not a …

Global Ethics, Religious Liberty, And Freedom Of Information Access, Paul A. Hartog

The Christian Librarian

Devout Christians work in a spectrum of library settings (including public libraries), networked by globalized information access. By nature of their employment, these librarians assist patrons in accessing and retrieving information that challenges or conflicts with a biblical worldview. How can one defend taking such an active role in this seeming contradiction? This article maintains that Christian commitment may not only co-exist with the freedom of information access but may also support it as a universal human right in our globalized, pluralistic context. To make the case, the essay contrasts two varying accounts of Global Ethics (differing in their view …

Engaging An Unengaged Demographic: A Phenomenological Study Of Christian Millennials’ Engagement With Religious And Nonreligious Memberships, Stephanie F. Prince

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Church membership is declining worldwide. Studies show that Millennials are less likely to belong to a church than previous generations. Even among churched Millennials, only 48% of church-attending Millennials are church members. Simultaneously, organizations such as health, fitness, and social clubs are seeing an increase in Millennial membership growth. Brand loyalty is high among Millennials, but church loyalty is low even among practicing Christian Millennials who attend church at least once per month. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how practicing Christian Millennials understand the nature of engagement with church and nonreligious memberships and the factors …